The Falcons currently the hold the No. 17 pick in the first round, but they are open to trading down, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com detail. GM Thomas Dimitroff has been aggressive in moving up the draft board in past years, but with this draft class being extremely deep, a move down is more enticing.
“We’ve looked at all the different scenarios, of course, and having few picks this year gives us an opportunity,” Dimitroff said of the Falcons’ strategy. “We think the draft has some really good strength from No. 15 on — obviously, as well as at the front of the draft. But we think there’s some good opportunities all the way through into the third round. So, it does present options to potentially move back.”
Here’s the latest out of the NFC South…
- Rutgers wide receiver Leonte Carroo is visiting the Saints today, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. PFR’s Rob DiRe projected Carroo to come off the board at the end of the second round in the first edition of PFR’s Mock Draft.
- Former Florida safety Keanu Neal says the Falcons would be the ideal fit for him, as McClure writes in a separate piece. “For me, schematically, yes,” Neal said. “I feel like that’s a great fit for me and my style of play. The coaching staff is authentic. I can tell they really care about each other and the program. I feel like [secondary coach] Marquand Manuel can really help me out as a person and a player. And Coach [Dan] Quinn, he’s a tremendous head coach. Getting under him, getting under his wing and learning will skyrocket my career.”
- Offensive lineman Caylin Hauptmann worked out for the Buccaneers today, tweets Wilson. The 24-year-old Hauptmann, a Florida International product, has spent time with the Browns, Patriots, and Seahawks, but has just one career NFL game to his name.
Zach Links contributed to this post.