2011 Daily Norseman Community Mock Draft--Atlanta Falcons

Mock Roger Goodell mock walks onto the mock stage of mock Radio City Music Hall, where just a few weeks earlier the real Charlie Sheen mocked reality and good taste.

And real people paid real money to watch all happen.

With a fake card in hand, he announces:

"With the 26th pick in the Daily Norseman Community Mock Draft, The Baltimore Ravens pick CB Jimmy Smith, Colorado. And I really, really hate DeMaurice Smith."

This is a good pick for the Ravens.  Ed Reed is getting old, but they still have enough playmakers in their secondary where Smtih won't be pressed into service immediately.  He will, however, have to hustle on every play or be killed by an Old Spice smelling Ray Lewis.  The Ravens are a team that's starting to get old defensively, but smart drafting like this will keep a healthy mix of youth and experience which will allow the Ravens to stay at or near the top of the NFL food chain.

Next on deck is the Atlanta Falcons.  The Falcons were the #1 seed for the NFC in last season's playoffs, and for their efforts they were absolutely throttled at home by the Green Bay Packers.  Although their season ended in disappointing fashion, they are a team on the rise, and don't have a lot of holes to fill.

For the Falcons, they need a better pass rush.  In their playoff loss to the Packers, Aaron Rodgers was able to sit in the pocket and absolutely shred the Falcons secondary all day long, and it really drove home the fact that as a team, the Falcons only had 31 sacks in all of 2010.  They have a pretty solid team in just about every other facet.  Atlanta boasts one of the up and coming young quarterbacks in the league with Matt Bud Light Mich Ultra Natty Light 'Matty Ice' Ryan, a very good running game, and All Pro receiving corps lead by WR Roddy White and the ageless TE Tony Gonzalez (and OSU alum Michael Jenkins, woo hoo!).  On defense, they have a good secondary and a solid linebacking corps.  Their defensive line, although decent against the rush, struggled to put pressure on the opposing quarterback, and DE John Abraham is north of 30. 

I'd be surprised if they don't pick a DE, but with Gonzalez contemplating retirement and Michael Turner battling the injury bug the last couple of seasons, a case could be made for a RB, WR, or TE.  There are also a couple of great value picks still on the board, and if the Falcons go for the proverbial 'best player available', Illinois LB Martez Wilson could very well be that guy.

You guys know what to do.  Pick a player from the poll provided, and here's a list of players selected so far.

Our community draft looks like this:

1. Carolina Panthers - Cam Newton, quarterback, Auburn
2. Denver Broncos - Patrick Peterson, cornerback, LSU
3. Buffalo Bills - Marcell Dareus, defensive tackle, Alabama
4. Cincinnati Bengals - Blaine Gabbert, quarterback, Missouri
5. Arizona Cardinals - Von Miller, linebacker, Texas A&M
6. Cleveland Browns - A.J. Green, wide receiver, Georgia
7. San Francisco 49ers - Prince Amukamara, cornerback, Nebraska
8. Tennessee Titans - Nick Fairley, defensive tackle, Auburn
9. Dallas Cowboys - Tyron Smith, offensive tackle, USC
10. Washington Redskins - Julio Jones, wide receiver, Alabama
11. Houston Texans - Da'Quan Bowers, defensive end, Clemson
12. Minnesota Vikings - Jake Locker, quarterback, Washington
13. Detroit Lions - Robert Quinn, defensive end, North Carolina
14. St. Louis Rams - Cameron Jordan, defensive end, California
15. Miami Dolphins - Mark Ingram, running back, Alabama
16. Jacksonville Jaguars - J.J. Watt, defensive end, Wisconsin
17. New England Patriots - Aldon Smith, defensive end/outside linebacker, Missouri
18. San Diego Chargers - Ryan Kerrigan, defensive end, Purdue
19. New York Giants - Mike Pouncey, offensive guard, Florida
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Adrian Clayborn, defensive end, Iowa
21. Kansas City Chiefs - Anthony Castonzo, offensive tackle, Boston College
22. Indianapolis Colts - Nate Solder, offensive tackle, Colorado
23. Philadelphia Eagles - Gabe Carimi, offensive tackle, Wisconsin
24. New Orleans Saints - Akeem Ayers, outside linebacker, UCLA
25. Seattle Seahawks - Ryan Mallett, quarterback, Arkansas
26. Baltimore Ravens - Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado