Year two of the Arthur Smith & Terry Fontenot regime kicked off in earnest this past weekend with the players selected by the Falcons organization in the 2022 NFL Draft. Given the state of our roster, these eight players should be expected to come in & contribute immediately. Some of these players will likely be counted upon more than others to contribute right away, but all of them should get plenty of opportunities to carve out roles in this organization soon enough. Without further ado, let’s introduce the players from this draft class & learn more about them.
WR Drake London (Round 1, Pick 8)
London immediately upgrades this team’s receiving core & becomes their WR1 in 2022. The 6’4” 219 lb. receiver out of USC is known for his ability to make contested catches (19 in 2022 was the best in college football) & versatility for playing in the slot & out wide in college. My friends & I got together for the draft, and we had a few questions upon hearing this selection. Did we really make the right call here in failing to upgrade the team’s bad pass rush once again? Also, was he really the best receiver in the draft after five others flew off the board shortly after? We’ll find out the answers to these burning questions in September when football season begins.
LB Arnold Ebiketie (Round 2, Pick 38)
Finally, we’ve selected a player capable of upgrading our much maligned pass rush! Ebiketie steps in & (hopefully) becomes our team’s best pass rusher outside of Grady Jarrett. This is a player some analysts thought would be drafted in the first round, and the Falcons gave up a fourth round pick to the Giants in order to move up & get him in the draft’s second round. Everyone’s been praising this pick, and honestly I can’t find a bad thing to say about this one.
LB Troy Andersen (Round 2, Pick 58)
My initial reaction to the Andersen pick was, “the Falcons would pick a player from Montana State that nobody’s ever heard of in the second round. That sounds just about right.” Little did I know, many analysts have heard of Andersen because of his freakish athletic testing. I’m still skeptical about this pick, considering that Troy didn’t face elite competition in college. His athleticism was off the charts at the combine though, so he should find a role somewhere.
QB Desmond Ridder (Round 3, Pick 74)
We were a team that was consistently linked to Ridder throughout the pre-draft process. The fact that we were able to grab him in the third round was a huge value signing for the team. Here’s a dude that many analysts said would be picked in the first or second round of this draft. A proven winner at Cincinnati with a 44-6 record, he could start for us at some point this year.
LB DeAngelo Malone (Round 3, Pick 82)
Another signing that I’m still a little skeptical about, but there’s definitely upside here. Malone played in a bunch of games as a five-year starter at defensive end for Western Kentucky. Most impressively, he was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year twice in his career. Similar to Andersen though, the question with him is did he face any great competition at WKU?
RB Tyler Allgeier (Round 5, Pick 151)
Allgeier’s 23 rushing touchdowns last year was tied for most in college football last year. I’m a huge fan of this pick, and the team clearly has faith in the guy after releasing Mike Davis. Running back is a position of need for the team, so why not take a flier on him in the fifth round? His presence should allow Cordarrelle Patterson to flex out at receiver far more often in 2022.
OL Justin Shaffer (Round 6, Pick 190)
Has hell frozen over? The Falcons selected not one, but two Georgia players in the draft. This marks the first time the team drafted a UGA player since selecting LB Akeem Dent in 2011. Let’s be honest here, Shaffer can’t be any worse than Jalen Mayfield was at LG last year right? In all seriousness, he’s got the size (6’4”, 314 lbs) & power needed to provide OL depth in ’22.
TE John FitzPatrick (Round 6, Pick 213)
After losing TEs Hayden Hurst & Lee Smith to free agency & retirement earlier this offseason, the Falcons needed to make efforts to shore up depth at the position behind Kyle Pitts. FitzPatrick teams up with Anthony Firkser as that depth, & they have complimentary skillsets. His 6’7” frame & run-blocking skills should allow him to play in the team’s redzone packages.
The bottom line
This seems like a solid draft class, with a couple question marks in Andersen & Malone. I’m amazed that we actually drafted Georgia players, which we’ve avoided doing in prior drafts. London & Ebiketie are probably already the most talented players at their roster positions in ’22. Ridder, Allgeier, Shaffer, & FitzPatrick will provide much needed depth at key roster positions. Will any of these guys move the needle in terms of wins this season? That remains to be seen.
The Sports Beacon 