2012 Atlanta Falcons Mock Draft: Bleacher Report Community Mock Draft Results

For the past two weeks, my fellow Bleacher Report NFL Featured Columnists, editors and myself have been conducting a seven round NFL mock draft. I had the task of running the Atlanta Falcons.

Initial Draft Strategy

Get the best players available and don't worry about needs as much. The Falcons have spent the past four drafts building the team and they are honestly at a point to where they can go with the best player available strategy.

2nd Round Pick (No. 55 Overall)

Brandon Thompson

Defensive Tackle

Clemson University

6'2" 314 pounds

Defensive tackle isn't Atlanta's biggest need nor is it one of the bigger areas of need for the team.

However, the Falcons have been bringing in defensive tackles and it could be the pick come April. Thompson's 6'2", 314-pound frame will give Atlanta a bigger defensive tackle in the middle while also keeping the idea of the penetrating defensive tackle.

Thompson fits as both a 1-tech and a 3-tech in the defense Nolan will be installing and could end up starting right away, leading to either Corey Peters or Jon Babineaux sitting on the bench.

Thompson also was the 37th rated player on my board overall in the draft and is a fringe first-round player in my eyes. He was a steal here at 55 and was the highest rated player on my board by a long shot.

Trade with Green Bay

There we are at pick number 84 and we have four guys who are all steals available.

The idea pops in my head to trade down five to six spots, get an extra fifth-round pick and still get one of those four players. Green Bay sends me a message and the idea is perfect for what we want to accomplish.

Trade: Atlanta sends their third-round pick (No. 84 overall) to the Green Bay Packers for GB's third-round pick (No. 90 overall) and fifth-round pick (No. 163 overall)

So we make this trade. We get an extra fifth-round pick and still wind up with three of the top-four players available at No. 90 overall with one of them standing out above the rest.

3rd Round Pick (No. 90 Overall)

Ben Jones

Offensive Lineman

University of Georgia

6'3" 303 pounds

The Falcons have a lot of good players on the line but Ben Jones could come in and compete for the starting center role, as well as the starting right guard role. Even if he doesn't win either of those jobs, he adds a lot of depth to the interior of the Falcons line.

The Falcons could be making some hard cuts this offseason and Jones would be a versatile player to fill in in case of injury at either guard or center.

Jones was the 63rd best player in the draft on my board and we got him at 90 overall. This is a true best-player-available pick and fits in with the team philosophy on character as he is a team captain with a ton of intensity.

5th Round Pick (No. 157 Overall)

Tom Compton

Offensive Tackle

University of South Dakota

6'5" 314 pounds

Atlanta's biggest need is a left tackle. While the value hasn't been there yet, the ideal player just popped up here.

Compton is the second most athletic tackle in this year's class behind only Donald Stephenson. He also is a good fit for the new blocking scheme as his size of 6'5" and 314 pounds will be good as a shield for Ryan's backside, while still having the quickness in both the passing and running game.

Compton's biggest issue is that he is raw, but he could learn from Svitek for a year or two and then take over. He is a fringe top-100 player and getting him at 157 is an excellent value here to add to the offensive line.

5th Round Pick (No. 163 Overall)

Greg Childs

Wide Receiver

University of Arkansas

6'3" 219 pounds

After Roddy White, Julio Jones and Harry Douglas, the Falcons don't exactly have any depth at wide receiver.

Greg Childs is a 6'3", 219-pound receiver with excellent speed and quickness in and out of his cuts. He had lighter production in his redshirt junior year than what was projected but that should be attributed to his patella tendon injury in 2010.

Childs is also a willing blocker and the Falcons love seeing their wide receivers have blocking ability to go with the play-making talent that he possesses.

He was the 121st best player on my board and we got him at 163 overall. The trade earlier in the process to pick up this pick looks smart too, because it gave us the guy we were originally targeting at 84 anyway and added another piece for Ryan to throw to.

6th Round Pick (No. 192 Overall)

Micah Pellerin

Defensive Back

Hampton University

6'0" 194 pounds

Pellerin is a good fit for the Falcons as an intermediate level corner. He plays well as a corner and safety and should be a reserve at both spots.

Mike Nolan has said that you could never get enough talented corners and safeties. Pellerin fits well as a candidate for a big-nickel role and should be the lead candidate as a backup to both safety spots.

Pellerin was valued at 140 on my big board and we got him here at 192. Definitely an amazing value and should provide depth at both corner and safety. Also should be an excellent component of the special-teams units for a few years as well.

7th Round Pick (No. 229 Overall)

Davin Meggett

Running Back

University of Maryland

5'8" 211 pounds

Atlanta needs a back who can learn from Michael Turner for a year or two and add some speed and strength to the backfield.

Meggett is one of the most underrated backs and reminds me a lot of Maurice Jones-Drew with his 4.4 speed and 211-pound frame on his 5'8" body.

He is someone I have a good bit higher on my board than others do. He's my 145th best player and getting him at 229 was crazy.

There were three running backs I liked here but he just happened to have the most explosive ability.

7th Round Pick (No. #249 Overall)

Junior Hemingway

Wide Receiver

University of Michigan

6'1" 225 pounds

Atlanta needs another wide receiver who can help out with the depth in the receiver corps. This would give the Falcons five targets who are all good size, speed and agility combos.

Hemingway also gives the Falcons another return man option to compete with Franks, Douglas and Rodgers.

He was the 175th best player on my board and getting him at 249 is a steal. It feels great to see guys who should have been picked two to three rounds ago on the board still.