2021 NFL Team Draft Page

In the end, Arthur Smith decided that Matt Ryan has plenty of football left in him and the former Tight Ends Coach went with one of the highest-rated TE prospects in recent history. Also, Terry Fontenot actually went with the "best available player." A "cheat code" of an athlete with an impossible combination of height, weight, and speed, Pitts will combine with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley to create nightmares for opposing defenses. Atlanta struggled to convert in the Red Zone under Dirk Koetter, scoring TDs only around 50% of the time in the last two seasons, and that will hopefully change under Smith's tutelage. Adding a weapon like Pitts could be the key to unlocking touchdowns rather than field goals.

We might never know if the option to move down was available to them, but adding Pitts opens up a lot of options. Could Atlanta trade Julio Jones, having added a comparable talent? Could they patch together a defense and hope to simply bludgeon opponents to death? Whatever the plan is, there will be plenty of highlights from Falcons' games this fall.

Grade: A

With the signing of AJ McCarron to back up Matt Ryan, Safety became the barest cupboard in Atlanta's kitchen. Richie Grant provides the sort of versatile Safety play that teams increasingly covet. He will likely spend a lot of time at the back of the defense, but he can come forward and support in the box, too. Safety seemed the, ahem, safe pick, but there has to be a story to Trevon Moehrig's slide. Still, Atlanta chose the player they wanted at the position they needed badly to fill.

A-

Atlanta has needed to work on the trenches, and Jaylen Mayfield is an interesting addition to the offensive line. He has played RT at Michigan, but he was announced as Guard in the draft. Kaleb McGary seems to have the RT spot locked up, but there is a yawning void in the interior. Presuming that last year's 3rd-round pick, Matt Hennessy, seizes the C position, Atlanta has assembled a very interesting, athletic OL to protect Matt Ryan.

Grade: B+