January 24, 2025 • 28 mins
The Atlanta Falcons recently announced the hiring of Jeff Ulbrich as defensive coordinator, and the move was met with mixed reactions. Will McFadden and Tori McElhaney dig into why the fan base was divided and what Ulbrich brings to the table. Is Ulbrich’s track record enough, and which players stand to benefit from this hire? They close with some quick thoughts on the NFL Draft before Will heads off to the Senior Bowl.
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - Mixed Fan Reactions
02:30 - Understanding the coaching hire decision
08:08 - Defensive performances that impress
12:20 - What players can stand to benefit from Ulbrich?
23:20 - Thoughts on the 2025 NFL Draft
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dirty Birds. What's up and welcome to another edition of
Falcons Final Whistle. I'm your host, Will McFadden. I am
joined by Tory mclaney. And Tory, it feels like a
long time since you've been in the studio together. It's
not been as long for you because you did a
solo pod that everybody should go check out. It was
well finally now right, Yeah, But it was the five
(00:20):
candidates that you thought made sense for the Falcons at
defensive coordinator. They have since made that higher. Jeff Ulbrick
coming back to Atlanta after a few years spent in
the Big Apple. He was on your new Jersey. Well
you know, I'm not as familiar up with that that area,
but he was on your list of five candidates. So
(00:41):
what was your initial reaction when you saw that Jeff
Ulbrick was going to be the pick?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, I think that I knew it was less about
my feelings and more about what I immediately knew the
fan base was gonna feel. You're such a professional, and
I know I just care so much, like I'm all
in feeling about me.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
This is about Will, this is my.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Time to shine.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
But no, I was, I was sitting there and I was, actually,
what's funny is the news broke on a Saturday, and
I actually was home visiting my family over the weekend,
and we were on our way to my sister's basketball
game in Rome, and I'm in the backseat of the car,
you know, working on stuff, and I just the whole
entire time was like, the loudest faction of the fan
(01:28):
base is going to have very strong opinions about this hire.
And I didn't think that it was going to be
an announcement that was met with a lot of excitement.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
By the fan base, if I'm being completely honest.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And looking back at once the Falcons did announce that
it was Ulbrick, kind of the response was exactly what
I thought it was going to be from the fans,
everybody being very skeptical about it, being a bit apprehensive
to a certain extent, even some frustrating and a little
bit of vitriol.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Like I think that I.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Knew it was going to be something that I don't
think a lot of people were gonna agree with in
the fan.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Base, because it it goes.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Back to what I said in that podcast that you
were talking about, where I laid out these candidates and
I kind of did, like, okay, pro and a con
for you know who who they were, what they do
and them coming to Atlanta, and with.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Jeff Olbrick, it was like, is it a little bit
of a been there, done that?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah? I mean in the mail bag as I was
kind of trying to get a pulse for the people
who didn't hit me up on Twitter, and there many, many,
many of them. But a common word is retread, right,
And that is the other sentiment to this, right, And
in this particular question, it says, you know, hiring Olbric
(02:50):
won't move the needle. I don't know what needle fans
necessarily are focused on at this point in time. Right,
Is it a splashy hiring that is going to get
everybody talking about you? Or is it ultimately something that
is going to pay dividends on the field, and in
my mind, sooner rather than later, because I think that
that's the timeline that this current organization is operating on. Right,
(03:14):
Is you want to win now? You wrote a great
column after the season talking about kind of the window
and the clock is ticking. Given the rookie contract for
Drake Lennon, Given the rookie contract for Jehan Robinson and
now Michael Pennock Junior, who, like I just continue the
further away from the season we get. I'm just like,
my excitement is growing for I think what he can
be based on what we saw in those three games. So, yeah,
(03:38):
you want to maximize I think this window. And now
the attention turns to the defensive side of the ball,
and I think that's where my first reaction was, Yes,
there's a lot of familiarity here, but is that a
bad thing necessarily, right, Because if you want to hit
the ground running, it makes sense to bring in somebody
that literally they worked together in this capacity city in
(04:00):
an interim role back in twenty twenty and the results
weren't that bad.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, And I think that too. I get it, you know.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And I think too that I think about course correction
a lot in like your decision making, and I feel
like if I'm Raheem Morris, and he has stated time
and time again that he kind of wants to be
this five thousand foot view operator of the organization, kind
of like a CEO, and then you trust your vps
(04:30):
or executives to handle their responsibilities. And I think that
it probably got to the point last season where he
was having to spend more time than maybe what he
would like within the minutia game planning of what the
Falcons were doing defensively. And I think that because of
(04:51):
this Jeff Oldbrick hire, it allows Raheem to immediately have
someone come in who he trusts, who has ex experience
calling games, who at this level. Who Let's be honest,
if you look at what the Jets have done defensively
over the last few years, especially Granted I know that
it's Jeff Ulbrick and Robert Sala probably together.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Yeah, I know that that's a but like Robert Sala
took that same approach, I went back and read a
lot of this stuff when he was hired. He said, look,
Jeff Ulbrick's going to be the play caller. He wants
to be that CEO type of you know, again, I'm
overseeing the organization. And I think that just misunderstands how
frankly involved with with a lot of stuff not necessarily
related to the product on the field that a head
(05:36):
coach has to deal with, Like well.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I think you know, you think about what the Jets
were having to deal with during the last couple of
years with that Aaron.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Rodgers recalization was not like a pinnacle of You can't.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Tell me that Robert Sala was sitting there every single
week just going over the game plan with Jeff Ulbrick
and being like, all right, man, go execute this like
I wrote it up for you. Like there were so
many things happening within that organization.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Working was defense, right, So I think his attention as
the head coach was on a lot of this stuff
not working. It was probably trying to manage, you know,
Garrett Wilson being like, how I'm not getting the ball
man a breeze hall and kind of that whole conundrums.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Aaron Rodgers of at all.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, I mean I think like that's the thing is
like we don't know, we're not in the building with
the Jets. We don't know how much like what that
working relationship was with Robert Sala and Jeff Olbrick.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
All we can go by either are the people who
were saying it was all Robert.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Salaz exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So I think like that, But to the point that
we're making is like Raheem wants to be this CEO
and to trust his guys to come up with a
game plan and he can. They can bring the game
to him and he can go, Okay, I like this,
maybe tweak this here, all right, go back and do that.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
That's what he wants.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
And with Jeff Ulbrick, I think it lends itself to
immediately to your point, kind of this idea of hitting
the ground running. He can come in and they can
meld their plans and their ideas to because it's something
they've done before. And I but again, I think that
it's really hard. I understand, like the fan base is
(07:08):
frustration to kind of be like, well, isn't this didn't
we already try this?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Didn't we already do this? Like I think it.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Which is fair.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I think both of these things it's the same. It's
a different side of the same coin. To have frustration
about this higher while also kind of looking at the
facts of the matter and understand you can understand it
and also maybe not have made the decision if you
were in the decision, make.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Their shoes, you know, And it's all fair, right, but
to your point, and there's a couple of a couple
of minds about this. First, it felt like at the
end of the twenty twenty season, given where the organization
had been starting in kind of that Super Bowl, and
then in the aftermath, like that point felt much more
urgent in the sense of we need to kind of
(07:53):
like shake some things up within the organization. And they did,
and then the grass wasn't necessarily greener, right, And in
the meantime, you had Raheem Morris go to La win
a Super Bowl as the defensive coordinator work you know,
really good like wonders with both a veteran and an
(08:13):
experienced group. But then also that last year in twenty
twenty three with a young group, and you saw that
he could kind of do both things. And then to
your point, Jeff Ulbrick is in New York, and I've
got some of the numbers here. They were over the
last three seasons, so this is including twenty twenty four,
first in yards allowed per play, They were first in
first downs per pass attempt, they were first in passer
(08:36):
rating allowed, they were second in defensive success rate, and
they were third worst in average starting field position. So
they were set up by offenses completely putting them in
tough spots, and yet they still came through time and
time again. And I would say again to the roberts
Alla point, like the defense getting worse may have something
to do with him leaving, but it may also have
(08:57):
something to do with the defensive coordinator elevation up to
that head coaching role and just being able to spend
less time on that. So I look at what they're
both kind of coming back to do together, and I
think the interim tags that they had in twenty twenty,
that's always a little bit complicated, right, because you're not
necessarily having an off season or you're not having an
(09:18):
off season to implement your vision, your style. You're taking
over the reins for somebody else, right, And I do
think that they worked pretty well in that role. They
were dead last in defensive EPA that season and they
finished fifteenth, right, So we were both covering the team
there at that point. What do you when you think
back to that time, what do you remember hearing Raheem
(09:39):
and Olbrook say that, you know, you think will translate
here or won't?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I think that at that time, you know, it's in
the middle of the pandemic and they you know, they
just parted ways with dan Quinn and I remember the
first few zoom calls because we were doing zoom calls,
you were I remember those first few Zoom calls with
Raheem in the interim spot and then ol Brick in
the DC spot.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
And I will give credit where credit is due.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
I thought that the way that they handled that whole
season from a leadership standpoint, having to deal with COVID
testing and having to deal with the roster literally changing
daily to a certain extent when there were these like
pockets of COVID outbreaks, and having to change meeting styles
and having to do different things. And I mean I
(10:26):
was really at the time impressed by their ability not
just to handle all of that, not just to handle
the firing of Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitrov in season,
but I appreciated from a media perspective how transparent they
were about all of the things that, Okay, yeah they're
(10:47):
not good enough here, we're not good enough. Here, we're
not good enough here, here's what we think is gonna
work by changing X, Y or Z. I don't and
I have a hard time like pulling examples because it's
been so long, But I remember one time Jeff Oulbrick
was talking about I think he was talking about like
Foye and how he was somebody who he could envision
(11:12):
being such a good, well rounded linebacker and how smart
he was and how he really wanted to tap into
him and.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Really like bring him along.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
And I think about what Foyer ended up turning into
and the contract that he got with the Jaguars, and
I just use that as an example that was somebody
who Jeff Olbrick was like, I really feel strongly that
this guy can be somebody really really good. And for
a while there, I think two years in a row
he led the league in tackles for both the Falcons
(11:43):
and his first year with the Jaguars. So that's just
like an example of I think they could always see
the bigger picture and even in the midst of probably
one of the most chaotic years not just life but
in the Falcons organization.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
That is.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
I always said, like I as a person have always
respected and genuinely liked Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrick as people.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
I think there, if I'm a player, I would want to.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Work with those type of guys, like those type of coaches.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
And I think that's the main the main part to
maybe sell this higher, right, not that that's what we're
here to try to do, but just to present that
argument for why this, you know, could ultimately really work
is because Jeff Ulbrick spent a decade in this league
as a player as a linebacker for the forty nine ers,
so he can speak to the player as a player,
(12:41):
right and kind of has that I think player first
mentality mentality as a head coach. I was working for
the organization at that time, so you were external with
the athletic but I saw him in the hallway. I
kind of got to know him a little bit, and
I mean he's very laid back, he's calm. He's never
going to get too higher, too low. Oh, He's gonna
kind of embrace that mentorship role. And I think Foye
(13:04):
is a perfect example of how he can elevate and
work with a player to really grow and develop them.
You know, foy was a six round pick. Is a
safety out of Yale. Yeah, those guys don't turn into
two time NFL leading tacklers who get second contracts as
you know, big players on the free agency market, and
he helped develop him. I think Devondre Campbell turning into
(13:26):
an all pro. I know it wasn't here in Atlanta,
but when he was drafted he was widely considered to
be like a toolsy prospect to needed a lot of development.
And how many times have we seen players with much
higher draft pedigrees be kind of this like versatile joker
player who's got like this range and they never really
manifest but he has. And you know, the last we
(13:47):
saw of him was not necessarily the highlight of his career.
But again, that's besides the point. I think Dion Jones,
Devondre Campbell, Foyer, those guys are a testament to what
he can do as a coach, as a position coach,
and now he gets to kind of work with the
entire defense. So is there anybody on this defense, position, group,
(14:07):
or play or specific do you think really stands to
benefit from his presence?
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I mean, I think like we have to talk about
the linebackers, the inside linebackers, because that is Jeff.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Oul Brick, your favorite position.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
I love them, Yeah, I love them.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
If I was a man, I would maybe want to
be an inside linebacker, Like if I got to play football.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
I see that because I always would tell.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
My dad, like growing up, because you know, flag football
for women wasn't like other girls, wasn't really a thing
in my high school like growing up, so I never
got the chance to play football like ever.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
And I remember telling him.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
I was like, I want to be a tight end
or an inside linebacker, like that was always the goal.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
So I gravitate towards I.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Played tight end, so you can play linebacker.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
There we go. Yeah, So anyways, that's beside the point.
That was a tangent.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
But I I really think that that group is out
of crossroads right now. And and I think obviously you
saw and I wrote about this this past week as
we were doing like position reviews for every single position
group on the team, and I was talking about what
kaateen Ellis was able to do in twenty twenty four
(15:14):
was very special. But what happens around him moving forward
is going to be I don't know, it's gonna be tough,
and it's really hard to predict at this point because
you know, Okay, caten Nelis has one more year in
Atlanta under contract. Nate Leman's a restricted free agent this year.
I would imagine that they would bring him back because
you can bring him back on a lead minimum. Troy
(15:36):
Anderson and j D. Bertrand are both on their rookie deals.
Troy Anderson would be on the last year of his
rookie deal, and I think that the style of play,
Like thinking about we just talked about the insign linebacker
group that Jeff Olbrich and Raheem Morris had the last
time they were here, compared to this group, vastly different
(16:00):
in terms of I think how they play their roles
within the defense.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Weirdly, the closest comp is I think Troy Anderson and
Devondre Yes. Yeah, is like those two guys to me
fit that mold of like really toolsy but need a
little bit of work.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
And I think that because we just haven't seen Troy Anderson.
He's been hurt, like way more than he's not been hurt.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
But when he's out there, he's like a comment in
the sky, beautiful thing.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Oh it's gone.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
And so I I really am curious to see what
jeff Ulbrick does with that group and if they bring
some different guys in, if there is maybe some draft
strategy involved in filling out that position a little bit,
or if Jeff Olbrick comes in and is like, I
actually really like these guys and I want to see
what they got. And I mean that's always an option too,
(16:54):
and you hope that you can get the best out
of that group, because I do think outside of Cayden,
you need a bit more out of that inside linebacker group,
and I think that's the group that if I'm thinking
about Jeff Albert coming in and really you can feel
his stamp on something, it's gonna be with that group,
which he is kind of the core of not only
(17:15):
who he is, but I think the defenses that he
operates out of.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Yeah, the other the other thought that I had on
that is when Devondre Campbell was drafted. I know that
for a couple of years there they really wanted to
have him be in that pseudo pass rusher role like
that was something I think he ultimately ended up being
better in coverage than he was as a pass rusher,
but early on they had him working with a lot
(17:39):
of those like edge rushers to try to utilize that size,
that skill set. So it's interesting that Caden is not.
I would not compare those two guys in terms of
like body style or anything like that, but yeah, maybe
it's like, all right, I finally got the guy that
I want to use in this way, and then the
other person I thought of was D'Angelo Malone, right, and
(18:00):
I believe he's another free agent candidate here, but he
does he have one more year on his deal anyway,
We'll have to look that up. But he was selected
in that final draft class with with DQ and with
Thomas and another kind of tweener type of player where
you can see, all right, is he a linebacker? Is
he an edge? What do we do with him? So
(18:21):
there are some interesting pieces. Now there's not you know,
a Quincy Williams or a CJ. Moseley type of player
on this defense. But I do think the linebackers are
going to stand the benefit. What about maybe some of
the defensive line guys, the edge guys and interior.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Well, I think they've got to develop some talent. Not
because I think about it this way, Grady, Jarrett, david
On Yamana are your aging, they're aging.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
D tackles and we're all aging aging.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Don't remind me as someone who has a birthday coming up.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Yeah, don't remind me.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Far behind you, but I think that you got to
develop someone like ruc Roro if he is kind of
the air apparent to that position group. Zach Harrison, I thought,
Zach Harrison did some really good things this past.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Year player that I immediately thought of, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I really think that, and I'm curious to see what
they want to do with him because you know, this
past off season.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
I know this past off season.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
He bulked up, had to put on a lot of
weight because they really wanted him to play more interior.
And even though that his first year was a bit
more coming off the edge out of Ohio State, that
was what he did at Ohio State. And now I'm
kind of like, are they gonna want him to revert
back to what he was?
Speaker 3 (19:37):
But I also think that he was doing some good things.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
I figured it out. Yeah, it's like it's like Chris
Pratt when he goes from Andy Dwyer to like Star Lore. Yeah,
they're just having him lose sixty pounds and then like
put sixty pounds back on. But he's like good in
both roles. That's exactly how I think is Zach Harrison.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, but I think he's somebody that I'm curious to
see what Jeff Olbrich thinks of him coming in and
if he feels.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Like, hey, this is a guy who.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Just looking at the interior can be a major part
of what they want to do.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
And also I think like the elephant in the room
as well is.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Grady Jared and I hate I got a question the
reason I bring this upisode, I got a question about
it in the mail bag about what do you do
with Grady Jared And because he doesn't have any guaranteed
money left on his contract, if the Falcons were to
release him prior to June one, according to over the cap,
they would save I think it's like over six just
(20:36):
over sixteen million dollars towards the cap.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
I'm looking it up right now because you're you're not
wrong if if people, Yeah, so it's like sixteen point
two five, so exactly there. And I mean, well, so
like I mentioned both of those, yeah, less it's about half,
but it's.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Still a number.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
And I personally I can't because I know how I mean,
I just spent an entire offseason with Grady like completely
embedded into his ten years in Atlanta and his road
to recovery and getting back from the ACL injury last
off season. And I know this season wasn't as productive
as we've known Grady Jarrett to be, but I kind
(21:14):
of expected that coming off of that injury. But I
can't imagine, So I will say I'm not impartial about this,
like I'm not and I can't imagine an Atlanta Falcons
team without Grady Jarrett. But I also thought the same
thing about Matt Ryan and I and yeah, I thought
that these these core group of guys who are part
(21:39):
of that Super Bowl run, like I was, I felt
as though they would retire as Falcons and would play
their final season in an Atlanta Falcons uniform. And the
reality of the situation is that this is a business,
and sixteen million dollars towards the cap, when you're kind
of in that little like right on the line, you
(21:59):
don't have that.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Much that you can maneuver and do.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
It's not like you're gonna go out and make the
slash the splashiest of signings. You're not gonna go out
and get another Jesse Bates, Like you're not going to
go out and give Kirk Cousins the contract that gave
him last offseason. You have to be way more strategic with.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Things this offseason.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
And I just I think like that's the question too,
is like, Okay, Jeff Olbrick and Raheem Morris, they know
firsthand what Grady Jared is to this organization.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And I think that is another reason why I'm like, there's.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
No way that they would be like all right, bye, man,
like thanks for ten years, but you're gonna save a
sixteen million, Like I don't see that happening, But crazier
things have happened.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Yeah, And I mean there could potentially be options on
the table where I do you restructure him? Do you
extend him a little bit and lower that number in
year one? But you look at and this is I'm
not gonna make you actually do this, but it's an
interesting exercise for people to think because you and I
are both in agreement that Kayla McGarry had a good
year this year. He is a younger player. I think
he is firmly in his prime and with more years
(23:02):
ahead of him. They're close in what you could save,
you know, like these are the decisions that you have
to weigh. It's like, all right, do we look at
maybe needing it right tackle? Do we look at adding
somebody defensive line? Like that's the tough situation that the
Falcons are in. So yeah, that's all kind of to
come last question for you before we wrap up because
(23:24):
this will be the last time we talked before I
head down a mobile for the Senior Bowl. So looking
at the draft, yeah, you know, fifteen, I think we're
all in agreement. The defense probably should be the way
that they go.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Yes, but I've also said that's the last four draft.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
It's so hard. Yeah, it's so hard. But if if
let's say we narrow it down to the defense and
you have your pick of maybe number two options, not
the first player on each port, but like edge rusher, cornerback,
interior guy, where's your head at?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I think fifteen is prime real estate for a corner
or an ant thrusher, and I think that those are
the two got the two positions that I think are
your premium positions. I don't think that unless you can
figure out a way to maneuver the cap and you
have more money to make a splash signing, those are
always going to be expensive guys.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Those veterans that are.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Proven at those positions are expensive, and I worry that
they would be out of the price range of the
Falcons at this point.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
I do.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
I've said this every single year since AJ Treuell was
drafted to the Falcons that I would love to see
some consistency at the position opposite him. Every single year,
and I can't remember I've said even said this on
the podcast, but every single year it's been someone new,
someone different. And while that I don't think changes the
way that AJ plays because cornerback, especially outside, you're on
(24:43):
an island like it's not like a pairing.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
But a little bit right exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
And so I think that I would love to see
a corner taken at number five if if you stay
at number fifteen.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Also, I think something else.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Or right, Yeah, I know there were, Yeah, there were
so many things, but I think too like I wouldn't
because of the the fact that the Falcons and a
third round picked up to New England for Matthew Junon,
they lost out on fifth round pick because of the
tampering violation. I think that they would be a little
bit draft capital hungry and would be willing to make
(25:26):
a move to move down if they foresee some top
defensive prospects, considering how deep the draft class is defensively,
if they feel like they can still stay in the
realm of being able to get their guy. Now, we
have so many months and months and months about this,
but I I right now, and as I'm probably going
(25:48):
to go into mock drafts and everything in the coming months.
Just edg rusher and corner, Ed drusher corner, Ed rusher corner.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
It's mock draft season. But you're right, the early rumblings
are that this isn't a top heavy draft, kind of
like this last one was, where you look at the
first rounders and like man left and right, there's a
lot of really good players that came out of this draft,
and I think HIMPJ will be one of them. But
it looks like rounds two through four is where the
meat of this draft is. So could you slide back
a little bit, pick up a couple more Day two picks,
(26:17):
and feel a little bit better about bolstering the defensive
side of the ball.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
The problem is is that you have to hit on
those picks, yes, you know, like those are those are
going to have to be guys that you feel don't
need a whole lot of development because I got to
come in and play and produce immediately.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
This can't be a shotgun approach. It's got to be
a sniper right. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
And I think about like the Matthew bergeron pick in
Day two, I and what he has He's been a
good player.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
I do too.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
I think he's been consistent and the fact that he
had never played that specific position ever and forever.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
We were talking about the left guard spot. You were
saying the number two corner spot. That was like that
was hard.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Yeah, it literally is. It just shifted to a new position.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
But no, I think about like, it's gonna have to
be that caliber player that can come in and be
the guy immediately.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yep, awesome, Well that will do it for us today.
Next week, at some point, you know, I will hope
to maybe have a Senior Bowl recap or speak to
some people down at the Senior Bowl. We're gonna produce her.
Sam and I are going to get together and try
to figure that out later today. But then we also
expect to hear from Jeff Ulbrick at some point in
the future, and I believe you will try to do
(27:28):
a recap of that conversation with Tarren Walcke. So everybody
please stay tuned for that. Thank you so much for listening.
You can watch us on YouTube. Be sure you're following
the Atlanta Falcons podcast network for everything Falcons, Audible, Falcons
in Focus, and Falcons Final Whistle. As always, today's show
was presented by Zaxby's for Tory mclaney. I'm Will McFadden
(27:49):
and we will see you guys next time. Today's episode
of Falcons Final Whistle is brought to you by Zaxby's.
And after a long game, when I'm tired and I
need to refuel, I turned to Zach their marinated, handbreaded
fried to perfection chicken fingers. They hit the spot every time.
Get yours with seasoned crinkle fries, a nice drink in
(28:10):
whichever of their twelve signature sauces you're feeling at the moment,
but it always hits just right. So next time you
need to refuel, go get yourself some Zaxbies.
Dirty Birds. What's up and welcome to another edition of
Falcons Final Whistle. I'm your host, Will McFadden. I am
joined by Tory mclaney. And Tory, it feels like a
long time since you've been in the studio together. It's
not been as long for you because you did a
solo pod that everybody should go check out. It was
well finally now right, Yeah, But it was the five
(00:20):
candidates that you thought made sense for the Falcons at
defensive coordinator. They have since made that higher. Jeff Ulbrick
coming back to Atlanta after a few years spent in
the Big Apple. He was on your new Jersey. Well
you know, I'm not as familiar up with that that area,
but he was on your list of five candidates. So
(00:41):
what was your initial reaction when you saw that Jeff
Ulbrick was going to be the pick?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, I think that I knew it was less about
my feelings and more about what I immediately knew the
fan base was gonna feel. You're such a professional, and
I know I just care so much, like I'm all
in feeling about me.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
This is about Will, this is my.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Time to shine.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
But no, I was, I was sitting there and I was, actually,
what's funny is the news broke on a Saturday, and
I actually was home visiting my family over the weekend,
and we were on our way to my sister's basketball
game in Rome, and I'm in the backseat of the car,
you know, working on stuff, and I just the whole
entire time was like, the loudest faction of the fan
(01:28):
base is going to have very strong opinions about this hire.
And I didn't think that it was going to be
an announcement that was met with a lot of excitement.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
By the fan base, if I'm being completely honest.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And looking back at once the Falcons did announce that
it was Ulbrick, kind of the response was exactly what
I thought it was going to be from the fans,
everybody being very skeptical about it, being a bit apprehensive
to a certain extent, even some frustrating and a little
bit of vitriol.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Like I think that I.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Knew it was going to be something that I don't
think a lot of people were gonna agree with in
the fan.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Base, because it it goes.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Back to what I said in that podcast that you
were talking about, where I laid out these candidates and
I kind of did, like, okay, pro and a con
for you know who who they were, what they do
and them coming to Atlanta, and with.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Jeff Olbrick, it was like, is it a little bit
of a been there, done that?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah? I mean in the mail bag as I was
kind of trying to get a pulse for the people
who didn't hit me up on Twitter, and there many, many,
many of them. But a common word is retread, right,
And that is the other sentiment to this, right, And
in this particular question, it says, you know, hiring Olbric
(02:50):
won't move the needle. I don't know what needle fans
necessarily are focused on at this point in time. Right,
Is it a splashy hiring that is going to get
everybody talking about you? Or is it ultimately something that
is going to pay dividends on the field, and in
my mind, sooner rather than later, because I think that
that's the timeline that this current organization is operating on. Right,
(03:14):
Is you want to win now? You wrote a great
column after the season talking about kind of the window
and the clock is ticking. Given the rookie contract for
Drake Lennon, Given the rookie contract for Jehan Robinson and
now Michael Pennock Junior, who, like I just continue the
further away from the season we get. I'm just like,
my excitement is growing for I think what he can
be based on what we saw in those three games. So, yeah,
(03:38):
you want to maximize I think this window. And now
the attention turns to the defensive side of the ball,
and I think that's where my first reaction was, Yes,
there's a lot of familiarity here, but is that a
bad thing necessarily, right, Because if you want to hit
the ground running, it makes sense to bring in somebody
that literally they worked together in this capacity city in
(04:00):
an interim role back in twenty twenty and the results
weren't that bad.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Yeah, And I think that too. I get it, you know.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And I think too that I think about course correction
a lot in like your decision making, and I feel
like if I'm Raheem Morris, and he has stated time
and time again that he kind of wants to be
this five thousand foot view operator of the organization, kind
of like a CEO, and then you trust your vps
(04:30):
or executives to handle their responsibilities. And I think that
it probably got to the point last season where he
was having to spend more time than maybe what he
would like within the minutia game planning of what the
Falcons were doing defensively. And I think that because of
(04:51):
this Jeff Oldbrick hire, it allows Raheem to immediately have
someone come in who he trusts, who has ex experience
calling games, who at this level. Who Let's be honest,
if you look at what the Jets have done defensively
over the last few years, especially Granted I know that
it's Jeff Ulbrick and Robert Sala probably together.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Yeah, I know that that's a but like Robert Sala
took that same approach, I went back and read a
lot of this stuff when he was hired. He said, look,
Jeff Ulbrick's going to be the play caller. He wants
to be that CEO type of you know, again, I'm
overseeing the organization. And I think that just misunderstands how
frankly involved with with a lot of stuff not necessarily
related to the product on the field that a head
(05:36):
coach has to deal with, Like well.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I think you know, you think about what the Jets
were having to deal with during the last couple of
years with that Aaron.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Rodgers recalization was not like a pinnacle of You can't.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Tell me that Robert Sala was sitting there every single
week just going over the game plan with Jeff Ulbrick
and being like, all right, man, go execute this like
I wrote it up for you. Like there were so
many things happening within that organization.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Working was defense, right, So I think his attention as
the head coach was on a lot of this stuff
not working. It was probably trying to manage, you know,
Garrett Wilson being like, how I'm not getting the ball
man a breeze hall and kind of that whole conundrums.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Aaron Rodgers of at all.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, I mean I think like that's the thing is
like we don't know, we're not in the building with
the Jets. We don't know how much like what that
working relationship was with Robert Sala and Jeff Olbrick.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
All we can go by either are the people who
were saying it was all Robert.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Salaz exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So I think like that, But to the point that
we're making is like Raheem wants to be this CEO
and to trust his guys to come up with a
game plan and he can. They can bring the game
to him and he can go, Okay, I like this,
maybe tweak this here, all right, go back and do that.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
That's what he wants.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
And with Jeff Ulbrick, I think it lends itself to
immediately to your point, kind of this idea of hitting
the ground running. He can come in and they can
meld their plans and their ideas to because it's something
they've done before. And I but again, I think that
it's really hard. I understand, like the fan base is
(07:08):
frustration to kind of be like, well, isn't this didn't
we already try this?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Didn't we already do this? Like I think it.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Which is fair.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I think both of these things it's the same. It's
a different side of the same coin. To have frustration
about this higher while also kind of looking at the
facts of the matter and understand you can understand it
and also maybe not have made the decision if you
were in the decision, make.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Their shoes, you know, And it's all fair, right, but
to your point, and there's a couple of a couple
of minds about this. First, it felt like at the
end of the twenty twenty season, given where the organization
had been starting in kind of that Super Bowl, and
then in the aftermath, like that point felt much more
urgent in the sense of we need to kind of
(07:53):
like shake some things up within the organization. And they did,
and then the grass wasn't necessarily greener, right, And in
the meantime, you had Raheem Morris go to La win
a Super Bowl as the defensive coordinator work you know,
really good like wonders with both a veteran and an
(08:13):
experienced group. But then also that last year in twenty
twenty three with a young group, and you saw that
he could kind of do both things. And then to
your point, Jeff Ulbrick is in New York, and I've
got some of the numbers here. They were over the
last three seasons, so this is including twenty twenty four,
first in yards allowed per play, They were first in
first downs per pass attempt, they were first in passer
(08:36):
rating allowed, they were second in defensive success rate, and
they were third worst in average starting field position. So
they were set up by offenses completely putting them in
tough spots, and yet they still came through time and
time again. And I would say again to the roberts
Alla point, like the defense getting worse may have something
to do with him leaving, but it may also have
(08:57):
something to do with the defensive coordinator elevation up to
that head coaching role and just being able to spend
less time on that. So I look at what they're
both kind of coming back to do together, and I
think the interim tags that they had in twenty twenty,
that's always a little bit complicated, right, because you're not
necessarily having an off season or you're not having an
(09:18):
off season to implement your vision, your style. You're taking
over the reins for somebody else, right, And I do
think that they worked pretty well in that role. They
were dead last in defensive EPA that season and they
finished fifteenth, right, So we were both covering the team
there at that point. What do you when you think
back to that time, what do you remember hearing Raheem
(09:39):
and Olbrook say that, you know, you think will translate
here or won't?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I think that at that time, you know, it's in
the middle of the pandemic and they you know, they
just parted ways with dan Quinn and I remember the
first few zoom calls because we were doing zoom calls,
you were I remember those first few Zoom calls with
Raheem in the interim spot and then ol Brick in
the DC spot.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
And I will give credit where credit is due.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
I thought that the way that they handled that whole
season from a leadership standpoint, having to deal with COVID
testing and having to deal with the roster literally changing
daily to a certain extent when there were these like
pockets of COVID outbreaks, and having to change meeting styles
and having to do different things. And I mean I
(10:26):
was really at the time impressed by their ability not
just to handle all of that, not just to handle
the firing of Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitrov in season,
but I appreciated from a media perspective how transparent they
were about all of the things that, Okay, yeah they're
(10:47):
not good enough here, we're not good enough. Here, we're
not good enough here, here's what we think is gonna
work by changing X, Y or Z. I don't and
I have a hard time like pulling examples because it's
been so long, But I remember one time Jeff Oulbrick
was talking about I think he was talking about like
Foye and how he was somebody who he could envision
(11:12):
being such a good, well rounded linebacker and how smart
he was and how he really wanted to tap into
him and.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Really like bring him along.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
And I think about what Foyer ended up turning into
and the contract that he got with the Jaguars, and
I just use that as an example that was somebody
who Jeff Olbrick was like, I really feel strongly that
this guy can be somebody really really good. And for
a while there, I think two years in a row
he led the league in tackles for both the Falcons
(11:43):
and his first year with the Jaguars. So that's just
like an example of I think they could always see
the bigger picture and even in the midst of probably
one of the most chaotic years not just life but
in the Falcons organization.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
That is.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
I always said, like I as a person have always
respected and genuinely liked Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrick as people.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
I think there, if I'm a player, I would want to.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Work with those type of guys, like those type of coaches.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
And I think that's the main the main part to
maybe sell this higher, right, not that that's what we're
here to try to do, but just to present that
argument for why this, you know, could ultimately really work
is because Jeff Ulbrick spent a decade in this league
as a player as a linebacker for the forty nine ers,
so he can speak to the player as a player,
(12:41):
right and kind of has that I think player first
mentality mentality as a head coach. I was working for
the organization at that time, so you were external with
the athletic but I saw him in the hallway. I
kind of got to know him a little bit, and
I mean he's very laid back, he's calm. He's never
going to get too higher, too low. Oh, He's gonna
kind of embrace that mentorship role. And I think Foye
(13:04):
is a perfect example of how he can elevate and
work with a player to really grow and develop them.
You know, foy was a six round pick. Is a
safety out of Yale. Yeah, those guys don't turn into
two time NFL leading tacklers who get second contracts as
you know, big players on the free agency market, and
he helped develop him. I think Devondre Campbell turning into
(13:26):
an all pro. I know it wasn't here in Atlanta,
but when he was drafted he was widely considered to
be like a toolsy prospect to needed a lot of development.
And how many times have we seen players with much
higher draft pedigrees be kind of this like versatile joker
player who's got like this range and they never really
manifest but he has. And you know, the last we
(13:47):
saw of him was not necessarily the highlight of his career.
But again, that's besides the point. I think Dion Jones,
Devondre Campbell, Foyer, those guys are a testament to what
he can do as a coach, as a position coach,
and now he gets to kind of work with the
entire defense. So is there anybody on this defense, position, group,
(14:07):
or play or specific do you think really stands to
benefit from his presence?
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I mean, I think like we have to talk about
the linebackers, the inside linebackers, because that is Jeff.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Oul Brick, your favorite position.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
I love them, Yeah, I love them.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
If I was a man, I would maybe want to
be an inside linebacker, Like if I got to play football.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
I see that because I always would tell.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
My dad, like growing up, because you know, flag football
for women wasn't like other girls, wasn't really a thing
in my high school like growing up, so I never
got the chance to play football like ever.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
And I remember telling him.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
I was like, I want to be a tight end
or an inside linebacker, like that was always the goal.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
So I gravitate towards I.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Played tight end, so you can play linebacker.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
There we go. Yeah, So anyways, that's beside the point.
That was a tangent.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
But I I really think that that group is out
of crossroads right now. And and I think obviously you
saw and I wrote about this this past week as
we were doing like position reviews for every single position
group on the team, and I was talking about what
kaateen Ellis was able to do in twenty twenty four
(15:14):
was very special. But what happens around him moving forward
is going to be I don't know, it's gonna be tough,
and it's really hard to predict at this point because
you know, Okay, caten Nelis has one more year in
Atlanta under contract. Nate Leman's a restricted free agent this year.
I would imagine that they would bring him back because
you can bring him back on a lead minimum. Troy
(15:36):
Anderson and j D. Bertrand are both on their rookie deals.
Troy Anderson would be on the last year of his
rookie deal, and I think that the style of play,
Like thinking about we just talked about the insign linebacker
group that Jeff Olbrich and Raheem Morris had the last
time they were here, compared to this group, vastly different
(16:00):
in terms of I think how they play their roles
within the defense.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Weirdly, the closest comp is I think Troy Anderson and
Devondre Yes. Yeah, is like those two guys to me
fit that mold of like really toolsy but need a
little bit of work.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
And I think that because we just haven't seen Troy Anderson.
He's been hurt, like way more than he's not been hurt.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
But when he's out there, he's like a comment in
the sky, beautiful thing.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Oh it's gone.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
And so I I really am curious to see what
jeff Ulbrick does with that group and if they bring
some different guys in, if there is maybe some draft
strategy involved in filling out that position a little bit,
or if Jeff Olbrick comes in and is like, I
actually really like these guys and I want to see
what they got. And I mean that's always an option too,
(16:54):
and you hope that you can get the best out
of that group, because I do think outside of Cayden,
you need a bit more out of that inside linebacker group,
and I think that's the group that if I'm thinking
about Jeff Albert coming in and really you can feel
his stamp on something, it's gonna be with that group,
which he is kind of the core of not only
(17:15):
who he is, but I think the defenses that he
operates out of.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Yeah, the other the other thought that I had on
that is when Devondre Campbell was drafted. I know that
for a couple of years there they really wanted to
have him be in that pseudo pass rusher role like
that was something I think he ultimately ended up being
better in coverage than he was as a pass rusher,
but early on they had him working with a lot
(17:39):
of those like edge rushers to try to utilize that size,
that skill set. So it's interesting that Caden is not.
I would not compare those two guys in terms of
like body style or anything like that, but yeah, maybe
it's like, all right, I finally got the guy that
I want to use in this way, and then the
other person I thought of was D'Angelo Malone, right, and
(18:00):
I believe he's another free agent candidate here, but he
does he have one more year on his deal anyway,
We'll have to look that up. But he was selected
in that final draft class with with DQ and with
Thomas and another kind of tweener type of player where
you can see, all right, is he a linebacker? Is
he an edge? What do we do with him? So
(18:21):
there are some interesting pieces. Now there's not you know,
a Quincy Williams or a CJ. Moseley type of player
on this defense. But I do think the linebackers are
going to stand the benefit. What about maybe some of
the defensive line guys, the edge guys and interior.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Well, I think they've got to develop some talent. Not
because I think about it this way, Grady, Jarrett, david
On Yamana are your aging, they're aging.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
D tackles and we're all aging aging.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Don't remind me as someone who has a birthday coming up.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Yeah, don't remind me.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Far behind you, but I think that you got to
develop someone like ruc Roro if he is kind of
the air apparent to that position group. Zach Harrison, I thought,
Zach Harrison did some really good things this past.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Year player that I immediately thought of, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I really think that, and I'm curious to see what
they want to do with him because you know, this
past off season.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
I know this past off season.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
He bulked up, had to put on a lot of
weight because they really wanted him to play more interior.
And even though that his first year was a bit
more coming off the edge out of Ohio State, that
was what he did at Ohio State. And now I'm
kind of like, are they gonna want him to revert
back to what he was?
Speaker 3 (19:37):
But I also think that he was doing some good things.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
I figured it out. Yeah, it's like it's like Chris
Pratt when he goes from Andy Dwyer to like Star Lore. Yeah,
they're just having him lose sixty pounds and then like
put sixty pounds back on. But he's like good in
both roles. That's exactly how I think is Zach Harrison.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, but I think he's somebody that I'm curious to
see what Jeff Olbrich thinks of him coming in and
if he feels.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Like, hey, this is a guy who.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Just looking at the interior can be a major part
of what they want to do.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
And also I think like the elephant in the room
as well is.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Grady Jared and I hate I got a question the
reason I bring this upisode, I got a question about
it in the mail bag about what do you do
with Grady Jared And because he doesn't have any guaranteed
money left on his contract, if the Falcons were to
release him prior to June one, according to over the cap,
they would save I think it's like over six just
(20:36):
over sixteen million dollars towards the cap.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
I'm looking it up right now because you're you're not
wrong if if people, Yeah, so it's like sixteen point
two five, so exactly there. And I mean, well, so
like I mentioned both of those, yeah, less it's about half,
but it's.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Still a number.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
And I personally I can't because I know how I mean,
I just spent an entire offseason with Grady like completely
embedded into his ten years in Atlanta and his road
to recovery and getting back from the ACL injury last
off season. And I know this season wasn't as productive
as we've known Grady Jarrett to be, but I kind
(21:14):
of expected that coming off of that injury. But I
can't imagine, So I will say I'm not impartial about this,
like I'm not and I can't imagine an Atlanta Falcons
team without Grady Jarrett. But I also thought the same
thing about Matt Ryan and I and yeah, I thought
that these these core group of guys who are part
(21:39):
of that Super Bowl run, like I was, I felt
as though they would retire as Falcons and would play
their final season in an Atlanta Falcons uniform. And the
reality of the situation is that this is a business,
and sixteen million dollars towards the cap, when you're kind
of in that little like right on the line, you
(21:59):
don't have that.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Much that you can maneuver and do.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
It's not like you're gonna go out and make the
slash the splashiest of signings. You're not gonna go out
and get another Jesse Bates, Like you're not going to
go out and give Kirk Cousins the contract that gave
him last offseason. You have to be way more strategic with.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Things this offseason.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
And I just I think like that's the question too,
is like, Okay, Jeff Olbrick and Raheem Morris, they know
firsthand what Grady Jared is to this organization.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And I think that is another reason why I'm like, there's.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
No way that they would be like all right, bye, man,
like thanks for ten years, but you're gonna save a
sixteen million, Like I don't see that happening, But crazier
things have happened.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Yeah, And I mean there could potentially be options on
the table where I do you restructure him? Do you
extend him a little bit and lower that number in
year one? But you look at and this is I'm
not gonna make you actually do this, but it's an
interesting exercise for people to think because you and I
are both in agreement that Kayla McGarry had a good
year this year. He is a younger player. I think
he is firmly in his prime and with more years
(23:02):
ahead of him. They're close in what you could save,
you know, like these are the decisions that you have
to weigh. It's like, all right, do we look at
maybe needing it right tackle? Do we look at adding
somebody defensive line? Like that's the tough situation that the
Falcons are in. So yeah, that's all kind of to
come last question for you before we wrap up because
(23:24):
this will be the last time we talked before I
head down a mobile for the Senior Bowl. So looking
at the draft, yeah, you know, fifteen, I think we're
all in agreement. The defense probably should be the way
that they go.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Yes, but I've also said that's the last four draft.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
It's so hard. Yeah, it's so hard. But if if
let's say we narrow it down to the defense and
you have your pick of maybe number two options, not
the first player on each port, but like edge rusher, cornerback,
interior guy, where's your head at?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I think fifteen is prime real estate for a corner
or an ant thrusher, and I think that those are
the two got the two positions that I think are
your premium positions. I don't think that unless you can
figure out a way to maneuver the cap and you
have more money to make a splash signing, those are
always going to be expensive guys.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Those veterans that are.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Proven at those positions are expensive, and I worry that
they would be out of the price range of the
Falcons at this point.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
I do.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
I've said this every single year since AJ Treuell was
drafted to the Falcons that I would love to see
some consistency at the position opposite him. Every single year,
and I can't remember I've said even said this on
the podcast, but every single year it's been someone new,
someone different. And while that I don't think changes the
way that AJ plays because cornerback, especially outside, you're on
(24:43):
an island like it's not like a pairing.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
But a little bit right exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
And so I think that I would love to see
a corner taken at number five if if you stay
at number fifteen.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Also, I think something else.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Or right, Yeah, I know there were, Yeah, there were
so many things, but I think too like I wouldn't
because of the the fact that the Falcons and a
third round picked up to New England for Matthew Junon,
they lost out on fifth round pick because of the
tampering violation. I think that they would be a little
bit draft capital hungry and would be willing to make
(25:26):
a move to move down if they foresee some top
defensive prospects, considering how deep the draft class is defensively,
if they feel like they can still stay in the
realm of being able to get their guy. Now, we
have so many months and months and months about this,
but I I right now, and as I'm probably going
(25:48):
to go into mock drafts and everything in the coming months.
Just edg rusher and corner, Ed drusher corner, Ed rusher corner.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
It's mock draft season. But you're right, the early rumblings
are that this isn't a top heavy draft, kind of
like this last one was, where you look at the
first rounders and like man left and right, there's a
lot of really good players that came out of this draft,
and I think HIMPJ will be one of them. But
it looks like rounds two through four is where the
meat of this draft is. So could you slide back
a little bit, pick up a couple more Day two picks,
(26:17):
and feel a little bit better about bolstering the defensive
side of the ball.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
The problem is is that you have to hit on
those picks, yes, you know, like those are those are
going to have to be guys that you feel don't
need a whole lot of development because I got to
come in and play and produce immediately.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
This can't be a shotgun approach. It's got to be
a sniper right. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
And I think about like the Matthew bergeron pick in
Day two, I and what he has He's been a
good player.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
I do too.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
I think he's been consistent and the fact that he
had never played that specific position ever and forever.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
We were talking about the left guard spot. You were
saying the number two corner spot. That was like that
was hard.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Yeah, it literally is. It just shifted to a new position.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
But no, I think about like, it's gonna have to
be that caliber player that can come in and be
the guy immediately.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yep, awesome, Well that will do it for us today.
Next week, at some point, you know, I will hope
to maybe have a Senior Bowl recap or speak to
some people down at the Senior Bowl. We're gonna produce her.
Sam and I are going to get together and try
to figure that out later today. But then we also
expect to hear from Jeff Ulbrick at some point in
the future, and I believe you will try to do
(27:28):
a recap of that conversation with Tarren Walcke. So everybody
please stay tuned for that. Thank you so much for listening.
You can watch us on YouTube. Be sure you're following
the Atlanta Falcons podcast network for everything Falcons, Audible, Falcons
in Focus, and Falcons Final Whistle. As always, today's show
was presented by Zaxby's for Tory mclaney. I'm Will McFadden
(27:49):
and we will see you guys next time. Today's episode
of Falcons Final Whistle is brought to you by Zaxby's.
And after a long game, when I'm tired and I
need to refuel, I turned to Zach their marinated, handbreaded
fried to perfection chicken fingers. They hit the spot every time.
Get yours with seasoned crinkle fries, a nice drink in
(28:10):
whichever of their twelve signature sauces you're feeling at the moment,
but it always hits just right. So next time you
need to refuel, go get yourself some Zaxbies.
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