NFC South
Atlanta Falcons Rookie Impact
By Jeff Gagnon
Sep 13, 2007, 21:04

The Atlanta Falcons franchise has had it's legs cut right out from under them, both figuratively and literally. The loss of Michael Vick should prove to be disastrous to the results of this season, but the Falcons brass should hold their heads high in regards to the depth of their 2007 draft. Atlanta saw eleven college players that they deemed worthy of a draft pick and ten of those managed to make the roster coming out of pre-season.

I will cover the expected impact of some of these picks and how they may affect the now and future EFS landscape. Each players EFS draft average was determined from their draft positions in the seven leagues in which I have the privilege of participating.

1.8 Jamaal Anderson LDE - EFs avg. 1.9 - When drafted by the Falcons, Anderson was expected to start immediately and hopefully help ease the loss of veteran Patrick Kerney. Gaines Adams was selected before him but is considered more of a pass rush specialist. Fantasy owners were definitely split on the two with Jamaal going before Adams in three of my drafts. The fact that Anderson has a better chance to play on everydown makes him a more attractive pick. He has been able to make his way into the regular season as the starter and will probably have a similar impact to what Tamba Hali was able to produce in 2006.

2.7 Justin Blalock LG - EFS avg. 5.4 (68th overall) - The Falcons needed an injection of youth on the offensive line. Starter Matt Lehr was released in the spring prior to the draft so they definitely had a need to fill with this pick. His draft position at EFS was about thirty positions lower than the actual draft. With the legal troubles of Vick putting the offense in the inept hands of Joey Harrington, the stock of all Atlanta linemen plummeted. Drafting a player who will start immediately in the 5th round is still always considered to be a solid pick. When will he significantly impact your O-line average? I am not sure but he is nothing but a bye week or injury fill in right now.

2.9 Chris Houston CB - EFS avg. 4.8 (56th overall) - Drafted out of Arkansas after his junior year, he was brought in to challenge for the starting CB spot opposite Deangelo Hall. He was unable to beat out Lewis Sanders, a free agent from the Texans. Houston will open the 2007 season working on nickel and dime packages, as well as special teams. He should be worthy of a roster spot if you have time to let him develop. He will score inconsistently this year and probably will not be able to get to adouble digits average.

3.11 Laurent Robinson WR - EFS avg. 6.15 (95th overall) - Hailing from the small school of Illinois State, Robinson was a bit of a surprise when the Falcons selected him in the 3rd round. Many draft experts viewed him as a 2nd day pick. The Falcons like this guy a lot and has emerged as their fourth receiver. He has excellent speed and is a polished route runner.
He will compete for some major playing time this season with the likes of Michael Jenkins, Roddy White and the aging Joe Horn as the only obstacles in his path.

4.10 Stephen Nicholas OLB - EFS avg. 5.7 (71st overall) - Received All-Big East first team honors as a senior at South Florida, capping off an excellent college career. His instincts and intensity made him a real impact player, registering 53.5 tackles for a loss and over 20 sacks in his career. The Falcons were in desperate need of some quality depth at inebacker and probably should have made a move a little earlier. Nicholas has been a nice addition to their corps though. He played so well that he has forced them to get him on the field, spelling Demorrio Williams from time to time. This player will be a starter in the future and that may even be this year.

Atlanta's draft did not send any Peppers or Mannings our way but the contributions of this group will probably turn out better than we think. The five players covered above all were drafted to cover major thin spots and will be given chances to start.

The Falcons had six more players make the team and have definitely improved the depth of the roster, while getting significantly younger.

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