The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
GM Dimitroff will move up for right player
FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn tinkered with the team’s digital draft board Thursday. The NFL draft is less than a week away and final preparations are being made.
Dimitroff wouldn’t reveal the rankings or how much a player was shifted up or down on the ordered list.
The Falcons currently hold the 26th overall pick in the draft, which is Thursday through Saturday in Arlington, Texas. Will they stay there?
“It’s always nice for me from an experience standpoint to draft alongside one of the most tenured GMs in the league,” Quinn said. “He’s one of the very best at what he does.”
In addition to the 26th overall pick, the Falcons hold picks 58 (second round), 90 (third round), 126 (fourth round), 200 (sixth) and 244 (seventh). Atlanta was awarded the final pick in the draft (No. 256) — referred to as Mr. Irrelevant — as a compensatory pick for losing five players in free agency in 2017.
After free agency, the Falcons needs are very clear. They need to add a defensive tackle, fullback, linebacker, wide receiver/returner and an offensive guard in the draft.
“This is an interesting draft because there are a number of positions that we are looking at more than in other years,” Dimitroff said. “In other years, we were really honed in on potentially one or two (positions). We have a number of positions that we really think can benefit us at 26. That’s actually really exciting.”
The Falcons could pick up a defensive tackle in the first round or add an offensive weapon.
They have worked through about 10 draft scenarios and have gotten a different player each time.
“More scenarios this year than we’ve had in quite a while,” Dimitroff said. “We don’t call them mock drafts, because that’s for the media. ... We try to project all the way through our draft. First, second and third rounds are a lot more focused.”
In four of his 10 drafts with the Falcons, Dimitroff has traded up.
If the Falcons want to land one of the top defensive tackles in the draft – Washington’s Vita Vea and Alabama’s De’Ron Payne – they will have to move up.
Dimitroff has moved up in the draft to select left tackle Sam Baker (2008), wide receiver Julio Jones (26 spots in 2011), cornerback Desmond Trufant (2013) and defensive end Takkarist McKinley (2017).
“The player that we are going to acquire has driven that most of the time,” Dimitroff said. “Of course, we are always thinking about cost. Where our team is. Where our team’s roster is.
“What we did in ’11, was not only the player, but where we were as an organization. Even last year, moving up for Takk, we had a lot of discussions about where we were with our pass rush.”