The Atlanta Falcons penalty from the NFL for pumping in crowd noise into the Georgia Dome turned out to be a valuable draft pick, but not the “severe” penalty we were all led to discuss. The team will forfeit their fifth round pick in 2016. With the penalty now known, the Falcons will be able to move forward without the possibility of the NFL taking away a key first, second or third round draft choice.
I’ve always been driven a bit crazy by those that blow off the value of a third round draft choice. “Who cares, we’ll get the pick wrong anyway”, is the typical excuse used when the idea of trading a third round pick comes up in conversation. The draft is a crapshoot, and the best way to beat it and regularly come away with talent is to have as many high round draft picks as possible.
For this exercise, let’s take a look at NFL history. Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson was able to build his team from the worst in the league into a Super Bowl champion in just four seasons. The key wasn’t just hitting on draft picks, but it was the amount that Johnson had given his player trades and moving around the draft board. From 1989 to 1993, the Cowboys had 24 premium picks. Premium picks being those that land in the first three rounds.
Look at the amount of premium draft picks the Falcons and team General Manager Thomas Dimitroff had from 2008 to 2012. The Falcons had 16 premium picks during that time period, which includes the six they held in the 2008 draft. Those picks became the foundation of the current team.
Clearly, that was a different time in the league when Johnson built his champion. But both the 1989 Cowboys and 2008 Falcons were teams that needed as many premium picks as possible to turn the fortunes of the franchise.
Now let’s take a look at how many premium picks the Falcons have had from 2008 to today. That total is 21 picks as we prepare for the 2015 NFL Draft. Here is how the compares to the rest of the division and various teams around the league:
NFC South:
Atlanta (21)
Tampa (20)
Carolina (18)
New Orleans (16)
NFL:
New England (31)
Detroit (25)
Baltimore (24)
Giants (23)
San Francisco (23)
Green Bay (21)
Philadelphia (21)
Dallas (18)
Seattle (17)