Altanta Falcons 2011 Draft Preview: What Do the Dirty Birds Need in 2011

On paper, the 2010 Atlanta Falcons were considered a dangerous team throughout the league. 

They had the stud running back in Michael Turner, they had a pro bowl wide out in Roddy White, they had the up and coming super star quarterback in Matt Ryan (AKA, Matty Ice) and they had a bend but don’t break defense made up of few big named stars (which many considered the Falcons' lone weakness). 

The one thing that the 2010 Falcons lacked was star power. 

On some occasions, when the team employed their ground and pound style of offense, the games were unbearable to watch.  The days of Prime Time Deion Sanders and Dirty-Bird Jamal Anderson were obviously long gone.  The new millennium Falcons under the tutelage of Mike Smith seems to be a bit more conservative; not to say that conservative football is a bad thing, but it’s just not the most exciting to watch. 

From a general distance, one would say that the Falcons could use some help on the defensive side of the ball, something reminiscent of the Mike Smith-led defenses of the Jaguars years ago when they made various playoff pushes on the backs of that defense.  There are rumblings in Dirty Bird country that the Falcons are not positioned to make any serious moves to move up in the draft order with the intention of picking a first-round stud. 

The Falcons are set to pick at No. 27 and some sources such as rumor websites say that Falcons could trade their first-round pick in order to load up on prospects in the later rounds. 

Full disclosure: As a member of the Falcons faithful, I miss the days of Jerry Glanville when the team was not a year-to-year contender but rather, a “boy oh boy, were they fun to watch?" type of team.

I would love for the Falcons to take a chance and reach for a play maker such as A.J. Green or Julio Jones, or make some moves in order to get a stud like Patrick Peterson. 

The truth is that the Falcons have a lot of free agents at key positions, thus limiting their ability to make trades (if the league and players were to strike a deal before the draft).  I would look for the Falcons to draft similar to the New England Patriots formula by putting more value in the later rounds and seeking out draft steals.