Was Matt Ryan the Best Choice for the Falcons?

Smush Higgins says why Glenn Dorsey would have been a better choice than Matt Ryan in the NFL Draft.

by Smush Higgins (Analyst)

2

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Editorial

July 08, 2008

NFL, Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan, Glenn Dorsey, Editorial

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Was Matt Ryan the right pick for the Atlanta Falcons?  The answer is absolutely not.

Matt Ryan stacked up some pretty awesome numbers at Boston College, which made their fans happy. I bet he was rather joyous as well.

In late April, I was at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City when Roger Goodell stepped to his podium and said: "With the third pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College".

I was in complete shock. Why not Glenn Dorsey? Why not trade the pick? I didn't know.

Mike Smith, the Falcons new head coach and a former coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, is mainly known for bringing great DT's in to play for the Jags.  One of those being Marcus Stroud, who is now with the Buffalo Bills organization.

I thought Dorsey would fit perfectly in Atlanta. He would have brought more defensive help for the team and could've filled the spot of the recently released Rod Coleman. Atlanta could've gotten a quarterback in the second round like Brian Brohm or Chad Henne.

Atlanta actually packaged two of the three picks in the second round to move up to get Sam Baker, an Offensive Tackle from USC.  With that move, they passed on Phillip Merling, a Defensive End from Clemson.

I thought Baker would have been a definite 2nd round pick because of his poor performance at the combine.

Glenn Dorsey would have been perfect.

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comments (2) write a comment »

  1. reply to comment by Jack
    about 1 month ago

    Brohm and Henne didn't grade out anywhere near Matt Ryan. Ryan was clearly the class of the QB crop, and QB is still the most important position in football. Yes, Dorsey would have been a great pick as well, but to say Ryan was a mistake pick is ignorant. Ryan even graded higher than Brady Quinn, who most people thought should be top 5 last year. Also, Ryan's intangibles (work ethic, reading defenses, leadership) appear to be off the charts.

  2. reply to comment by Jack
    about 1 month ago

    Brohm and Henne didn't grade out anywhere near Matt Ryan. Ryan was clearly the class of the QB crop, and QB is still the most important position in football. Yes, Dorsey would have been a great pick as well, but to say Ryan was a mistake pick is ignorant. Ryan even graded higher than Brady Quinn, who most people thought should be top 5 last year. Also, Ryan's intangibles (work ethic, reading defenses, leadership) appear to be off the charts.

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About the Author Smush Higgins (analyst)

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