Falcons draft pick Meier is getting ready for brother's funeral

The family will have services in Pittsburg, Kan., on Monday.

Kerry Meier began as a quarterback at Kansas, but was switched to wide receiver in 2007. He set career (226) and single-season (102) receiving marks for the Jayhawks.

"With the news I got today, with me being the happiest guy, he's the second happiest guy for me," Meier said of his late brother. "He pushed me through a lot of tough times growing up. He's always been right there for me. ... He really showed me the direction on how to play football. Now I just want to continue my football career in honor of him and continue to play well, just the way he played."

Trading up

The Falcons made a trade with the St. Louis Rams to move up 14 spots in the fifth round. In order to move from 149th to 135th, the Falcons gave St. Louis their fifth-round pick (149) and a sixth-round pick (189).

The Falcons used the pick to draft Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks.

"We had an opportunity to acquire a corner who had, fortunately for us, dropped in the draft a great deal from where he was projected," general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. "He's a fast individual who brings us another good-size corner to throw into the competition."

Montana connection

Montana safety Shann Schillinger, the team's sixth-round pick, is from Baker, Mont., a town of about 1,800 people.

Falcons defensive tackle Kroy Biermann also played at Montana.

"Hopefully, we'll have Kroy Biermann help him out along the way and be one of his Montana brethren," Dimitroff said. "He will compete for one of the safety spots as well as be a legitimate potential core special-teams guy."

Tenders signed

Running back Jerious Norwood and punter Michael Koenen both signed their restricted tenders.

Norwood, who has four accrued years in the league, had a second-round tender and will receive a base salary of $1.759 million.

Koenen, who has five accrued NFL seasons, had a second-round tender and will receive a base salary of $1.809 million.

Also, tight end Jason Rader, who played in six games over the past two seasons, has retired.

Big Ten gets no love

Dimitroff stayed away from the Big Ten again. During his tenure, the Falcons have drafted 26 players, none from the Big Ten.

He did draft his first player from the Mountain West, when he selected UNLV center/guard Joe Hawley in the fourth round (117 overall).

"I don't have anything against them," Dimitroff said of the Big Ten. "I love watching their football."

Undrafted rookie free agents

When the draft ended the Falcons began to contact players on their "CFA" board, which stands for college free agents.

The Falcons will sign 11 or 12 "CFAs," according to Dimitroff, and will look at the running backs available.