In the wake of Terry Fontenot being hired in Atlanta, I got to thinking about how impressive the New Orleans Saints drafted — especially in 2017. While they choked in the playoffs again and didn’t do anything with it, they still did everything in their power to put Drew Brees in an ideal situation to win during the twilight of his career. The AFC Playoffs over the weekend was littered with quarterbacks from the 2017 Draft, and while Atlanta wasn’t in position (or didn’t need) a QB at the time, there were so many impact players selected all over the board.
The Falcons got none of them.
I wrote over a year ago about how poorly Atlanta did in the 2017 NFL Draft. The most notable gaffe was Takk McKinley over TJ Watt, and it hurt even more that I was so sure we had made a move for Watt. Excuse me, three-time All-Pro & 2020 NFL sacks Leader TJ Watt. Not only did Atlanta whiff, so many great players were taken at positions that they have struggled with. Let’s take a look at who was picked in that 2017 class. This was undoubtedly a turning point for this franchise coming off of a Super Bowl appearance, and it likely cost Dan Quinn & Thomas Dimitroff their jobs.
DE Myles Garrett
S Jamal Adams
WR Mike Williams
RB Christian McCaffrey
QB Patrick Mahomes
CB Marshon Lattimore
QB Deshaun Watson
LB Haason Reddick
S Malik Hooker
CB Marlon Humphrey
DE Jonathan Allen
CB Adoree Jackson
TE OJ Howard
TE Evan Engram
S Jabrill Peppers
CB Tre’Davious White (One Pick After Takk)
TE David Njoku
EDGE TJ Watt
OT Ryan Ramczyk
S Budda Baker
RB Dalvin Cook
S Marcus Williams
LB Tyus Bowser
RB Joe Mixon
IDL Dalvin Tomlinson
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
RB Alvin Kamara
WR Cooper Kupp
WR Chris Godwin
RB Kareem Hunt
CB Shaq Griffin
S John Johnson III
CB Cam Sutton
WR Kenny Golladay
TE Jonnu Smith
EDGE Trey Hendrickson
RB James Conner
S Eddie Jackson
EDGE Carl Lawson
RB Tarik Cohen
RB Jamaal Williams
RB Wayne Gallman
RB Marlon Mack
TE George Kittle (Nine picks after Sean Harlow)
CB Desmond King (Two picks after Damontae Kazee)
RB Aaron Jones (Same round as Brian Hill, picked after)
UDFAs:
FB/IDL Patrick Ricard, RB Austin Ekeler, RB Matt Breida, K Younghoe Koo
Think about Atlanta’s team needs at the time. Secondary, EDGE, running back, and tight end were all addressed by the Falcons. The players they selected were social media star Takk McKinley, Duke Riley, Sean Harlow, Brian Hill, Damontae Kazee, and Eric Saubert. After this year’s free agency, none of these guys may be on the roster. It always sucks to flunk a draft, but flunking one you absolutely had to nail after blowing a 25-point lead in the Super Bowl stings even more. It’s fair to say this draft class is the primary reason the Falcons are now potentially looking at a total rebuild four years later.
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