Draft History: Falcons found a solid mix of offensive and defensive stars
Entering their 55th season, the Atlanta Falcons have yet to win their first championship. The team has been to the playoffs 14 times, won seven division titles and appeared in two Super Bowls. Four years ago, the team had arguably its best and worst moment in one game. The Falcons had a 28-3 lead in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI, only to see the Patriots come back and win in the first overtime in the penultimate game’s history. Atlanta’s best players have played in the three most successful eras, the first playoff years (1978-82), the seasons surrounding Super Bowl XXXIII (1995-2004) or the ones around Super Bowl LI (2008-present).
BEST
10. (tie) Jamal Anderson, RB (Round 7, Pick 201 in 1994), William Andrews, FB (Round 3, Pick 79 in 1979) and Gerald Riggs, RB (Round 1, Pick 9 in 1982) - Three of the top five rushing totals in club history come from Falcons draft picks. Anderson was a diamond in the round taken in the seventh round out of Utah, and he ranks fifth in team history with 5,336 yards. The originator of the “Dirty Bird” dance, he ran for 1,846 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1998, when he earned his only Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. He also ran for 276 yards and two scores during the playoffs that season, which saw the Falcons reach Super Bowl XXXIII against the Broncos. Andrews is third in franchise history with 5,986 yards, and he also has 30 touchdowns. After running for 1,023 yards as a rookie, the Auburn product was a Pro Bowler in each of the next four seasons, reaching a high of 1,567 yards in 1983. Despite missing the following year with a knee injury, Andrews spent the latter part of his career blocking for Riggs, who ranks first on the team’s all-time list with 6,631 yards and second with 48 scores. The Arizona State product was selected to three Pro Bowls and had three 1,000-yard seasons, with a high of 1,719 in 1985. Riggs appeared in Super Bowl XXVI as a member of the Redskins in 1991, and Washington’s victory gave him a title in his final NFL appearance.
9. (tie) Steve Bartkowski, QB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1975) and Michael Vick, QB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 2001) - Atlanta has had the top overall pick in the NFL Draft four times, and used the selection on quarterbacks twice. The Falcons did not reach the playoffs until 1978, their 13th year of existence, but when they did, Bartkowski was under center. After splitting playing time at Cal with Vince Ferragamo, a future starting quarterback with the Rams in Super Bowl XIV, Bartkowski became a two-time Pro Bowler and led the NFL with 31 touchdowns in 1980. The golden-haired gunslinger ranks second in team history with both 154 scoring passes and 23,470 yards, including three seasons with 3,000 or more. He led the team to a 12-4 record in 1980, and appeared in four playoff games overall. Vick was a dynamic playmaker who finished third in the 1999 Heisman Trophy voting as a freshman with Virginia Tech (the award was won by Wisconsin star and future Giants running back Ron Dayne). Although not as accomplished of a passer as Bartkowski, Vick took the NFL by storm thanks to his running ability. He was a three-time Pro Bowler with Atlanta, and ranks seventh in team history with 3,859 rushing yards. Vick ran for 902 yards in 2004, and became the first quarterback to run for 1,000 yards in a season with 1,039 two years later (he was the only player at the position to reach that mark until Lamar Jackson in 2019). After that, his career was nearly ruined thanks to his role in a dog fighting venture that landed him in prison for the better part of two years. Vick returned to the NFL with the Eagles in 2009, and earned a Pro Bowl nod and the Comeback Player of the Year Award the following season.
8. (tie) Mike Kenn, T (Round 1, Pick 13 in 1978) and Keith Brooking, LB (Round 1, Pick 12 in 1998) - The Falcons selected two players in the middle of the first round who made an impact during successful eras in franchise history. Kenn was a huge presence in college, helping Michigan to a 28-6-2 record in his three seasons. From there, the nearly 6-foot-7 tackle spent the next 17 seasons protecting Bartkowski and Chris Miller. Kenn was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro whose 251 games played is the most in franchise history. Brooking was a standout at Georgia Tech before spending 11 years as Atlanta’s resident tackle machine. The five-time Pro Bowler ranks second on the team’s all-time list with 1,133 tackles, including eight seasons with 100 or more and a league-high 126 solo stops in 2003. Brooking appeared in Super Bowl XXXIII in 1998 and made four tackles against the Eagles in the 2004 NFC Championship Game.
7. Jeff Van Note, C (Round 11, Pick 262 in 1969) – Van Note was a jack-of-all-trades who succeeded at one of the most under-appreciated positions on the field. He played running back and defensive end at Kentucky, but the Falcons saw him as a linebacker when they drafted him in 1969. Atlanta head coach Norm Van Brocklin moved him to center the following year, and there he stayed for 18 seasons and 246 games, which ranks second behind Kenn in team history. The six-time Pro Bowler appeared in the franchise’s first four playoff games and missed just four contests in his career before retiring in 1986.
6. Roddy White, WR (Round 1, Pick 27 in 2005) - A product of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, White starred for 11 seasons in Atlanta. White tops the team’s all-time list with 808 receptions and 63 touchdowns, and he ranks second with 10,863 yards. The four-time Pro Bowler had six straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2007-12 and led the NFL with 115 receptions in his 2010 All-Pro campaign. White appeared in five playoff games and had a seven-catch, 100-yard effort in a loss to the 49ers in the 2012 NFC Championship Game.
5. Julio Jones, WR (Round 1, Pick 6 in 2011) - Quintorris Lopez Jones is the given name of one of the most gifted athletes in the NFL. Nicknamed “Julio” by his mother in middle school, Jones went on to become a high school All-American and a key member of Alabama’s 2009 run to the National Championship. He dominated in the pros almost instantly, making the All-Rookie Team after posting 959 yards and eight touchdowns in 2011. Overall, he tops the franchise list with 12,125 yards and ranks second with 797 receptions and 57 touchdowns, trailing only White, who he shared the field with for his first five seasons. The seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro led the league in receiving yards twice, including a career-high 1,871 in 2015, which is the second-highest total in NFL history behind Calvin Johnson’s 1,964 with Detroit in 2012. Jones has had several stellar playoff performances, including 11 receptions for 182 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to San Francisco in the 2012 NFC Championship Game and a 9-180-2 stat line against the Packers that led to a conference title four years later. He had four catches for 87 yards in Super Bowl LI, but the Patriots won in overtime after trailing 28-3.
4. Deion Sanders, CB (Round 1, Pick 5 in 1989) – Like Bo Jackson, Sanders was a two-sport star in the professional ranks, playing with four teams in seven major league seasons, most notably with the Braves and Reds. In football, he was a two-time All-American and the Jim Thorpe Award winner as college football’s best defensive back while at Florida State. Early in his NFL career, Sanders starred as both a cornerback and a returner. He fumbled and recovered his first punt return, which was negated by a penalty, then brought back the re-kick for a score. In all, he had five return touchdowns (three on kickoffs and two on punts). “Prime Time” was also a ballhawk in the secondary, picking off 24 passes and returning three for scores. He was selected to three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams with Atlanta, but his biggest success came in other locations. Sanders was named the 1994 Defensive Player of the Year and won a title with San Francisco in Super Bowl XXIX. He also was a member of Dallas’ Super Bowl XXX championship squad the following year, and was named a three-time All-Pro with the Cowboys. Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
3. Tommy Nobis, LB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1966) - Atlanta’s first draft pick was clearly one of the best. In college, Nobis was a member of Texas’ 1963 National Championship team. He excelled at both guard and linebacker, winning the Outland Trophy as best interior lineman and the Maxwell Award as college football’s best all-around player. Nobis had a choice to make, since he was also picked first by the AFL’s Houston Oilers. Houston is home to the NASA space program and Frank Borman, an astronaut who was on the Gemini VII spacecraft orbiting earth sent a message back that he hoped Nobis would sign with the Oilers (since his sons were ball boys for the team). Instead, Nobis picked Atlanta and became known as “Mr. Falcon.” He earned the NFL Rookie of the Year Award and made the Pro Bowl in 1966. Despite tackles being an unofficial statistic at the time, his total of 294 stands as the single-season record for both the team and the league. Nobis, who totaled 12 interceptions and led the team in tackles nine times in 11 years, was a five-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 1967. He died in 2017 due to the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) on his brain.
2. Claude Humphrey, DE (Round 1, Pick 3 in 1968) - The Hall of Famer came to the NFL after earning All-American honors at Tennessee State in 1967. Humphrey was the Defensive Rookie of the Year, earned five straight Pro Bowl selections from 1970-74 and was a two-time All-Pro before a knee injury cost him the 1975 season. He returned to harass opposing quarterbacks and earn his sixth Pro Bowl nod in 1977. After one more year with the Falcons, he signed with the Eagles, where he got his first taste of the playoffs. Philadelphia lost Super Bowl XV to the Raiders while Humphrey was a reserve in the game. Although sacks were not kept by the NFL until he retired, Humphrey’s career total of 126½ included a career-high 15 sacks in 1976. He influenced several other great pass rushers, such as Reggie White, Bruce Smith and Michael Strahan, who joined him as part of the 2014 class in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1. Matt Ryan, QB (Round 1, Pick 2 in 2008) - Ryan earned All-American honors after posting 4,507 yards and 31 touchdowns at Boston College in 2007, and he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year with Atlanta in 2008. Ryan was the league MVP after establishing career-highs with 4,944 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2016, but Atlanta’s season ended with a loss to New England in Super Bowl LI. He is the team’s all-time leader with 321 touchdown passes and 51,186 yards, including 4,000 or more in the past nine seasons. The four-time Pro Bowler earned his “Matty Ice” nickname thanks to 38 career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter and overtime. Ryan enters 2020 looking to move up from 10th overall in passing yards, and he needs just 289 to pass John Elway.
WORST
10. (tie) Peria Jerry, DT (Round 1, Pick 24 in 2009) and John Small, DT (Round 1, Pick 12 in 1970) - Jerry was a 2008 All-American at Mississippi, but his rookie season in Atlanta was derailed by a knee injury. The younger brother of Bengals guard John Jerry lasted just five years in the NFL, posting 67 tackles and 5½ sacks. Small was a three-time member of the All-Southern Conference team at The Citadel, and was named to the college’s first Hall of Fame class in 1977. However, his professional career was not nearly as successful. He played 47 games in five NFL seasons, three with the Falcons and two with the Lions, before retiring in 1974. After football, he became a public speaker and created a Christian ministry program for troubled youth before passing away in 2012.
9. Clarence Ellis, S (Round 1, Pick 15 in 1972) - Ellis was a 1971 All-American at Notre Dame and helped the Fighting Irish defeat previously-unbeaten Texas in the Cotton Bowl that season. He had eight interceptions over three seasons as Atlanta’s starting free safety before retiring in 1975 to embark on a business career with IBM and Honeywell International.
8. Earnest “Bubba” Bean, RB (Round 1, Pick 9 in 1976) - Bean had a stellar four-year career at Texas A&M which included him making the cover of Sports Illustrated during his senior season. With the Falcons, he missed the 1977 season with a torn ACL and finished his career with 1,528 yards and six touchdowns. William Andrews beat him out for the starting spot in 1979, and was soon out of the league. After his playing career, Bean worked at Texas A&M’s career planning office, operated his own construction company and is now the youth outreach coordinator for the City of Bryan in Texas.
7. Nick Rassas, S (Round 2, Pick 17 in 1966) – Rassas is the first player to be listed for multiple teams. He was also selected in the second round (pick 16) by the Chargers in the AFL Draft but chose the expansion Falcons. Rassas played just 27 games in three NFL seasons, amassing 434 kickoff return yards, two fumble recoveries and an interception. After he retired, the Notre Dame product spent more than 40 years in the finance industry.
6. Joe Profit, RB (Round 1, Pick 7 in 1971) - Profit was a three-time member of the All-Gulf States Conference team (now called the Sunbelt Conference), but he totaled just 471 yards in three seasons with the Falcons and Saints. Profit was much more successful after football. He ran several successful businesses, including being the founder and CEO of Communications International Inc., and is now the CEO of the Multimedia Digital Broadcast Corporation. He also is a published author, a proponent of the Youth United for Prosperity leadership organization and is running for the United States House of Representatives seat in Georgia’s 7th district.
5. Michael Booker, CB (Round 1, Pick 11 in 1997) - Booker was the Defensive MVP of Nebraska’s win over Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. He started during the 1998 playoffs, including Atlanta’s lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII. Booker totaled 109 tackles and eight interceptions, but he started just 11 games in five seasons with the Falcons and Titans. The 1997 NFL Draft featured quite a few talented players after the first round, and Atlanta missed out on star defensive backs Darren Sharper (pick 60 to Green Bay) and Ronde Barber (pick 66 to Tampa Bay).
4. Tony Smith, RB (Round 1, Pick 19 in 1992) – Smith was a star at Southern Mississippi, and he spent two seasons playing with Brett Favre in college. Ironically enough, this was the pick that the Falcons acquired when they traded Favre to the Packers. Smith ran for 329 yards and two touchdowns while also returning kicks and punts as a rookie, but still ended up in Jerry Glanville’s dog house. The longtime coach wanted the team to draft a defensive back instead, and he benched Smith for all of the 1993 and ’94 seasons. Smith signed with the Panthers during their 1995 expansion season, but fractured his tibia and fibula. He spent 1998 with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL and tried out with the Eagles the following year, but he injured his hamstring and retired soon after.
3. Jamaal Anderson, DE (Round 1, Pick 8 in 2007) - Anderson was a wide receiver in high school, but injuries forced his move to defensive end at Arkansas. He started 44 games his first three seasons, including all 16 as a rookie, but totaled just 142 tackles and 7½ sacks in six seasons with the Falcons, Colts and Bengals. A pair of seven-time Pro Bowl defensive legends in linebacker Patrick Willis (pick 11 to the 49ers) and cornerback Darrelle Revis (pick 14 to the Jets) were available at this spot.
2. Bruce Pickens, CB (Round 1, Pick 3 in 1991) - Pickens was a great athlete, but he benefited from playing for a Nebraska program that was very good in the 1980s and early ’90s. This resulted in him being dramatically overdrafted. Pickens played just 27 games with the Falcons, and split the 1993 season with the Packers and Chiefs. After sitting out in 1994, he spent one more year with the Raiders before he was out of the league. Pickens finished his career with 88 tackles and two interceptions.
1. Aundray Bruce, LB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1988) - Bruce came into the league as the “next Lawrence Taylor,” but ended up one of the least successful No. 1 picks of the past 40 years. He was a 1987 All-American at Auburn and was the third of Atlanta’s four top overall picks (Nobis in 1966, Bartkowski in 1975 and Vick in 2001). Bruce started his career with back-to-back six-sack campaigns and was named to the All-Rookie Team in 1988. He finished his four-year Falcons tenure with 16 sacks and totaled 16 more in seven seasons in Oakland after signing with the Raiders in 1992.
Statistics courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/.
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