While the coronavirus pandemic has altered the Falcons’ approach to the coming draft, which will be held Thursday through Saturday, they hope to net the same results.
They want to continue to field talented players of high character that will elevate the level of play and fit into a tight-knit locker room.
“We would have been out flying around, shaking hands, looking in the eyes,” general manager Thomas Dimitroff said of how the Falcons would have treated this time in a typical offseason.
With owner Arthur Blank’s private plane grounded, the Falcons had virtual meetings with the prospects that were highly interested in.
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“We continued to cross T’s and dot I’s,” Dimitroff said. “We do it probably at levels with not only myself and (coach) Dan (Quinn), but our directors as well as our scouts and our coaches.”
The personal handshakes and piercing looks deep into a player’s eyes were done over a digital device.
“We’ve adhered to the rules as far as how many people we could contact and how often,” Dimitroff said. “When we have issues, we come back to these guys that we need to re-address.”
Dimitroff is comfortable that the Falcons have settled all of their questions about character and locker-room fitness.
“We’re here, not moving around, have ample time to focus on these players, really dig into what we think is the right character and fit for this team,” Dimitroff said.
Once the players are selected, Quinn’s role is to get them indoctrinated.
“Like Thomas, we feed off one another from the talent side, for him to evaluate them,” Quinn said. “When they get here, part of my job is to help these guys develop, help the culture of the locker room as teammates.”
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One of the keys to the Falcons’ turnaround last season was that there never was any obvious acrimony in the locker room after a 1-7 start. They battled back to post a 6-2 mark for the second half of the season, including victories over San Francisco and New Orleans. The 49ers went on to claim the NFC title, and the Saints won the NFC South.
“That’s always been the same, to make sure it’s a natural transition from where we’re taking the guy into scouting to how he’ll evolve on to the team,” Quinn said. “To me, that’s one of the biggest things.”
Given the changes with the travel and the meetings with the potential players, Quinn had to reach his own comfort level with technology and the prospects.
“The silver lining (was) the amount of calls we’ve been able to make to players not traveling,” Quinn said. “During a day we (could) connect on six or eight players in one day, for 15 to 45 minutes sometimes on a certain player.”
Quinn didn’t find the digital connections to lack in interpersonal relations.
“I would say if there was the silver lining, it’s the connection you can make even though you’re not right across from somebody. Having technology like this does make it available to do that,” Quinn said.
The Falcons will field a mostly veteran team trying to rebound from back-to-back 7-9 seasons. An unfocused younger player could hinder the plan.
“I do believe it’s really important to look at the type of players you’re bringing in,” Dimitroff said. “We are in a different situation now. We need to make sure that in my mind there’s a total package there.
“That total package, you can differentiate between player to player, see who has the strength, who can hang with their focus. Their level of attention span is important. I think it’s important for our team, whether we’re in a virtual setting or not.”
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The Falcons have started their virtual offseason program.
“We have really good coaches and a coaching staff that’s really going to be adept at pressing and holding these players accountable during the virtual time,” Dimitroff said. “I understand it’s not mandatory, but we have a lot of players champing at the bit to learn with the new group coming in.
“We feel the people we are targeting right now that they have a good combination, the ability to play on the field and football mental acuity, which is important for us.”
While the Falcons will focus on defense, they are aware that Pro Bowl center Alex Mack turns 35 in November and is entering the last year of his contract.
“If Alex even extends past this year, too,” Quinn said. “I think all things are on the table for certainly a player of his caliber and where we see him playing at, too.”
After the draft ends Saturday, the Falcons will move quickly to sign undrafted rookie free agents.
“What is going to work differently, it’s going to be at its own hub with our directors managing it and our scouts and our coaches interacting, of course,” Dimitroff said. “Usually, that’s a pretty active time as you can imagine in our draft room, right? There’s a lot of people coming in and out, checks, balances, all kinds of stuff going on. We’re going to have to do that virtually, of course.”
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