FLOWERY BRANCH -- Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was drafted with the fourth overall pick last year and went on to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie.
He appears to have a bright future in the NFL.
Overall, the Falcons have a sketchy history when picking in the top 10 of the NFL draft. They currently hold the eighth pick overall this year. If they keep the pick and don’t trade out of the top 10, this will be the franchise’s 26th top-10 pick since it started play in the 1966 season.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot and coach Arthur Smith are the key decision-makers in the draft room, although owner Arthur Blank likes to stay informed.
“We’re going to keep bringing in competition,” Fontenot said. “That’s our charge. That’s our goal at every single position, to bring in competition and continue to improve.”
The Falcons could select a quarterback in the top 10, but the class is not rated as high as last season’s class. The Falcons passed on quarterbacks Justin Fields and Mac Jones to select Pitts last season. Members of the fan base would like the Falcons to select Liberty’s Malik Willis, who remains them of former quarterback Michael Vick.
Willis is from Atlanta and played at Westlake and Roswell high schools.
Regardless of whether they elect to draft a quarterback, the Falcons are expecting a talented player to fall to them in the eighth spot.
“We have certain categories that would put players historically in the first round,” Fontenot said. “We’re not going to grade on the curve, so we’re not going to have 32 first-round picks every year. We might have 20 first-round (grades), 18 first-round (grades).”
While the current administration may not elect to select a quarterback, the franchise’s three best quarterbacks were selected in the top 10.
Steve Bartkowski was taken No. 1 in 1975 and was the first quarterback to lead the Falcons to the playoffs, in 1978.
Michael Vick was selected No. 1 in 2001 and guided the Falcons to the NFC title game after the 2004 regular season.
Matt Ryan was selected No. 3 in 2008 and became the second quarterback to guide the team to the Super Bowl. Chris Chandler guided the 1998 team to the Super Bowl.
The list of top 10 picks also includes Pro Football Hall of Famers in defensive end Claude Humphrey, who was picked third out of Tennessee State in 1968, and cornerback Deion Sanders, who was picked fifth out of Florida State in 1989.
But there also were some big misses in the top 10 for the Falcons.
Recently, the Associated Press picked the selection of Auburn defensive end Aundray Bruce, No. 1 in 1988, as the worst pick in franchise history. He was over-hyped as the next Lawrence Taylor and never lived up to the billing.
However, he was a serviceable pro for 11 seasons. He played in 151 games and made 40 starts. He managed 32 career sacks. (Taylor finished with 132.5 career sacks).
In 1991, the Falcons selected cornerback Bruce Pickens third, out of Nebraska. The master plan was for Pickens to line up across from Deion Sanders, and they would lock down wide receivers in the old NFC West. He was cut in his third season with two career interceptions.
In 2007, the Falcons selected defensive end Jamaal Anderson with the eighth pick out of Arkansas. He was supposed to team with John Abraham to give the Falcons a pass-rushing duo. Anderson ended up getting too big and had to move inside to tackle.
The Falcons passed on linebacker Patrick Willis (11th), running back Marshawn Lynch (12th) and cornerback Darrelle Revis (14th) to select Anderson.
Here’s look back at the picks and how they fared in the NFL:
1966: Tommy Nobis, Texas, MLB, first: Had a Pro Football Hall of Fame-worthy career that covered 133 games. In March 2018, NFL.com named Nobis as the top Falcon not in the Hall of Fame. Nobis set an NFL record with his 294 tackles as a rookie. He was named the NFL defensive rookie of the year. Nobis played 11 seasons and went to five Pro Bowls. He was an all-decade selection in the 1960s, joining fellow middle ‘backers Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke, both of whom were first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Credit: Vernon Biever
Credit: Vernon Biever
1968: Claude Humphrey, Tennessee State, DE, third: In 2014, Humphrey became the first long-time member from the early days of the Falcons to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio. He terrorized quarterbacks in the NFL and was a part of the Falcons’ “Grits Blitz” defense of 1977 that set an NFL record for fewest points allowed. Sacks were not made an official statistic until after Humphrey’s retirement, but a film review of his career determined that he finished as the Falcons’ all-time leader with 94.5 sacks.
1969: George Kunz, Notre Dame, OL, second: Drafted behind USC running back O.J. Simpson, Kunz became an instant staple of the offensive line. He was a Pro Bowl selection his first season and finished his career with eight Pro Bowl selections over his 11-year career.
1971: Joe Profit, Louisiana-Monroe, RB, seventh: He made just seven starts over three seasons. He later got into politics.
1975: Steve Bartkowski, California, QB, first: Held all of the franchise’s passing records until Ryan came along. He is in the team’s Ring of Honor.
1976: Bubba Bean, Texas A&M, RB, ninth: His promising career was cut short by a torn ACL in 1977.
1977: Warren Bryant, Kentucky, OT, sixth: He was a solid pro, with 94 career starts.
1980: Junior Miller, Nebraska, TE, seventh: He went to the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons in the league, but was out of the league after only five seasons. Miller previously held the franchise record for most receiving touchdowns by a rookie, with nine. Calvin Ridley broke it with 10 in 2018.
1982: Gerald Riggs, Arizona State, RB, ninth: He went on to have a stellar career and is a member of the Falcons’ Ring of Honor.
1984: Rick Bryan, Oklahoma, DE, ninth: He won the NFC’s defensive rookie-of-the-year award and had a solid nine-year career.
1985: Bill Fralic, Pittsburgh, G, second: After a storied career for the Pitt Panthers, the three-time All-American was drafted by the Falcons. He started immediately at right guard and went to four Pro Bowls and was twice named to the All-Pro team. After 1992, he played one season with the Detroit Lions. He played in 132 NFL games, 131 as a starter.
1986: Tony Casillas, Oklahoma, DT, second: The Falcons like the Sooners. Since 1966, the team has drafted more players from Oklahoma than any other school. Most notable was nose tackle Tony Casillas. Casillas spent five seasons in Atlanta, accumulating 478 tackles.
1988: Aundray Bruce, Auburn DE, first: The Falcons missed on three Hall of Famers who went after Bruce in the first round. Notre Dame wide receiver Tim Brown (sixth to Raiders), Miami wide receiver Michael Irvin (11th to Dallas) and Arizona State guard Randall McDaniel (19th to Minnesota).
1989: Deion Sanders, Florida State, CB, fifth: Prime Time put on a show in the NFL for five different teams on his way to Canton, Ohio.
1991: Bruce Pickens, Nebraska, CB, third: Played briefly for the Packers after his career never took off with the Falcons.
1992: Bob Whitfield, Stanford, OT, eighth: Went to one Pro Bowl and was a key member of the franchise’s first Super Bowl team in 1998 under coach Dan Reeves.
1993: Lincoln Kennedy, Washington, OT, ninth: After starting as a rookie, he lost his job the following season and was later traded to the Raiders. Falcons gave up on him too soon. He went on to start eight seasons for the Raiders and made the Pro Bowl three times and was named All-Pro once.
2001: Michael Vick, Virginia Tech, QB, first: He led the Falcons to a historic playoff win at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field and had them in position to reach the Super Bowl before his career was derailed by a federal dog fighting investigation.
2004: DeAngelo Hall, Virginia Tech, CB, eighth: After four seasons and two Pro Bowl trips, he was traded to the Raiders. He went on to play 11 more seasons in the league.
2007: Jamaal Anderson, Arkansas, DE, eighth: He finished with 7.5 career sacks.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
2008: Matt Ryan, Boston College, QB, third: Became the second quarterback to take the franchise to the Super Bowl, during the 2016 season.
2011: Julio Jones, Alabama, WR, sixth: Holds all of the team’s receiving records, surpassing Roddy White.
2014: Jake Matthews, Texas A&M, OT, sixth: Started at left tackle as a rookie and has been to one Pro Bowl.
2015: Vic Beasley, Clemson, DE, eighth: Had one spectacular season in 2016 when he had 15.5 sacks and won the league’s Deacon Jones award.
2021: Kyle Pitts, Florida, TE, fourth: Played all 17 games, had more than 1,000 yards receiving and was named to the Pro Bowl.
The Bow Tie Chronicles
AJC’S POSITION BY POSITION SERIES 2022 DRAFT
Here’s a look at the AJC’s position-by-position draft series:
WIDE RECEIVERS – Falcons need to upgrade weapons | Top 10 WRs
RUNNING BACKS – Position has become devalued in draft | Top 10 RBs
TIGHT ENDS – Chigoziem Okonkwo survived heart condition | Top 10 TEs
OFFENSIVE LINE – Ex-UGA lineman Salyer points to wins in SEC trenches | Top 10 OL
QUARTERBACKS – Malik Willis now top QB prospect for NFL draft | Top 10 QBs
DEFENSIVE LINE – Georgia dominates D-line talk ahead of draft | Top 10 DL
LINEBACKERS – Ex-UGA star Dean the latest test of play vs. measurables | Top 10 LBs
CORNERBACKS – Lots of intrigue in 2022 NFL draft’s cornerback class | Top 10 CBs
SAFETIES – Georgia’ Lewis Cine will knock your block off | Top 10 Safeties
SPECIAL TEAMS – Special-teams players attracting some NFL draft interest | Top 10 special teamers
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