NFL team owners will meet in Boston for their annual spring meeting with plenty of interesting proposals on the docket. Along with voting on where Super Bowl L and Super Bowl LI will be held, the owners will also vote on the fate of the Pro Bowl format.

From ESPN’s John Clayton:

On the table is a plan for the top vote-getters in each conference to serve as team captains to select the squads. Instead of having the AFC going against the NFC, the team captains would pick from the list of 88 Pro Bowlers.

Also on the table are incentives to reward squads for scores by the half or the quarter. Two-minute warnings could be added in the first and third quarters. The league is open to any suggestion, but such major changes would need support to be implemented. If the league changes the Pro Bowl, players have to brace for the consequences. If the moves fail, there probably won’t be a Pro Bowl by 2016 or ’17.

Unrelated to the meetings comes the report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the league is looking into shifting the league year around a bit, including backing the NFL Draft up into May instead of its traditional spot late in April.

ProFootballTalk.com details some of the potential changes that could occur here.

For Falcons graphic designer Matt Lange, his main responsibility was to create the graphic for each drafted player to use on our Falcons Draft Hub. You can view that here.

Lange created a video to show you exactly how those graphics were made.

So here’s the scene: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell strides to the podium and announces that the Falcons have traded up and says, “With the 22nd overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select… Desmond Trufant.”

And go!

Jersey numbers have been selected among the Falcons’ eight 2013 draft picks. First-round pick Desmond Trufant already selected his Friday, choosing jersey No. 21.

Here’s a list of the Rookie Club’s numbers:

The Falcons’ first-round pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant, wasted no time in deciding what number he’ll wear with the Falcons.

Trufant will wear the No. 21 jersey in Atlanta, perhaps a nod to former Falcon cornerback and Ring of Honor member Deion Sanders, who wore the same digits.

“I thought about it,” Trufant said. “That was Deion Sanders’ number when he was here and he was a great player. … It’s an honor to wear that number and to be here in general. It’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to put it on.”

For weeks and weeks and weeks, draft experts fall all over each other to project first-round picks in their mock drafts leading up to the end of April. For each general manager in the league, however, there are little tipoffs that will tell you the different things they value in a potential pick.

After five full drafts and one round of his sixth, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff’s key value in prospects is becoming more and more clear, and it’s leadership.

With the 22nd overall pick Thursday night, Dimitroff selected the 34th senior he’s taken since 2008 and the 18th team captain. Here’s a list of team captains Dimitroff has selected in his tenure with the Falcons:

• Matt Ryan
• Sam Baker
• Thomas DeCoud
• Peria Jerry
• William Moore
• Garrett Reynolds
• Sean Weatherspoon
• Corey Peters
• Mike Johnson
• Kerry Meier
• Shann Schillinger
• Akeem Dent
• Cliff Matthews
• Andrew Jackson
• Lawrence Sidbury
• Christopher Owens
• Lamar Holmes
• Desmond Trufant

The 2012 Atlanta Falcons Rookie Club has selected its jersey numbers, and you can find the complete list below:

G/C Peter Konz: 66
OT Lamar Holmes: 76
FB Bradie Ewing: 36
DE Jonathan Massaquoi: 96
S Charles Mitchell: 26
DT Travian Robertson: 92

Last week, he spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of his circumstances at this year’s draft during his pre-draft press conference and later expounded on some of those points when I had a chance to speak with him one-on-one.

Here are my five questions with him:

Jay Adams: You’ve said before that this is your season. Head coach Mike Smith has fall and winter, but the spring is really when you do the bulk of your work. In that context, what’s the draft for you?

Thomas Dimitroff: Having been a scout all my career and then moving into management with a scouting background, this is our one game a year that we have. The focus continues to build, build and build until, obviously, up to when the draft starts and through the draft. So there’s this excitement that continues to build, and the idea of improving a team to hopefully help us break through that door that Arthur Blank referred to — we’re knocking on the door, we haven’t broken through yet — that’s one of those things that always provides motivation for me and I know Mike Smith, as co-team builder. We have a very adept scouting staff led by Dave Caldwell, our personnel director, and Lionel Vital, our associate personnel director, as well as the rest of our staff, who are very, very in tune. We have a very focused staff and they provide all the information that we need to get us ready for our final decisions, because, in the very end, it comes down to myself and Mike Smith as per the player we’re going to pick at 55 or 84 or 157. It’s a one-game season for us on the personnel side and there are a lot of pressures there and in inordinate amount of time and research that goes into picking these players. I would say that, when the draft is over, it’s honestly like finishing a season of football because there’s a lot of work that goes into it.

JA: We looked at the draft retention numbers recently and the numbers you’ve been able to amass in that category are certainly striking. This year was really, for all intents and purposes, a chance to re-sign your first draft class and you brought a good amount back. For a player being drafted by the Falcons, how much of a commitment should they view their selection as?

TD: It’s a huge commitment, Jay. Obviously — let’s call it the way it is — it may be descending from the first pick to your final pick. The commitment is going to be that much stronger at the front end of the draft. That said, everyone we take in the draft, we are committing to and we are giving them every opportunity to make the football team, and that’s very important to us. As you mentioned earlier, we’re very encouraged and proud of our retention rate because it’s something we feel very strongly about. When you’re building a football team and you’re attempting to be fiscally responsible, that’s an important thing. It’s also bringing certain players through your system, year in and year out, so that you can truly create the type of player that you want to sign to not only a second contract, but potentially a third. If, as an organization, your scouting staff and your personnel people have done all the research in the proper manner, I feel that we all in the league should have very sound retention rates because that’s where we spend millions and millions of dollars, researching and scouting players to come into our team. Obviously, there are situations — be it injuries or other unfortunate situations that occur — from organization to organization where they don’t re-sign a player or they lose a player or, quite honestly, a blunder or a bust happens. Quite honestly, that can happen. We understand that. It’s part of it. It’s not an exact science. What you can do is be as thoughtful, as acute in your focus and as well-researched as possible at so many levels to eliminate the uncertainties going into the draft, and that’s what I feel our staff has done a fine job with in the four seasons we’ve been here.

JA: Fans always have an idea of what they consider needs coming into any particular year, but as an NFL GM, how do you go about determining what the needs actually are, or are not?

TD: We have conversations with our scouting and our coaching staff, some together with the scouts and coaches, some separate, some with Mike Smith, myself and our coordinators, some with our owner. There are countless discussions and meetings to determine where our weaknesses may be, where we need to strengthen our depth and, in the end, we come to a consensus decision about where we truly need to pick, whether it’s in this year’s draft or whether it’s in free agency. Another part of the equation that’s not talked about that much is continuing to project into the next year’s draft or next year’s free agency, as well. You need to take the entire picture, not only this year but in years to come, so that you can determine if, in fact, you don’t acquire a certain need this year, can you acquire it in next year’s draft or next year’s group of free agency? Can you hold off a year before you address that certain need? We do categorize our needs and prioritize our needs, as well, so that will determine a lot of times what we do in the draft or free agency.

JA: A year ago at this time, we were talking about all the uncertainty that comes with picking at No. 27 overall because of all the things that could happen before you go on the clock. Of course, now we’re talking about double the number of picks before the Falcons select. You talked a little about uncertainty in you press conference, but how much does the number of picks ahead of you change your mindset?

TD: Interestingly enough, our focus has been on 55, but we make sure that we are thoroughly evaluating all the players in the top tier of the board. We all know who all those names are so we won’t go into specifics. We feel that we know them, for the most part, inside and out — at least, that’s our hope. But we are very focused on our projections about who may be there at 55 and we will put extra focus, as you can imagine, on that area. What that does is it limits the time you’re spending on the very top of the board as far as discussions and meetings, and has you focused on a different part of the board. It also has you focused on what we call our “side board,” and the bottom part of our draft board because there are so many different things that can happen at 55 that may prevent us or allow us to pick later on in the draft. Back to the uncertainties, it’s one of those things that we’re very mindful of. Our focus has been on the 55 projected players as well as the down-the-line players on the draft board that could affect what we do at 55. It sounds like a puzzle, and it is.

JA: With the draft being three days now, it’s a marathon and it’s constant. I imagine it’s got to be crazy for you. When you get to Day 3 and you get into the sixth and seventh rounds, how do you keep from letting the monotony get to you?

TD: The monotony of what you may feel in the media or the fanbase may feel waiting, there is so much more action going on in the war room and in our building, discussing players, watching, analyzing what’s happening, analyzing the needs from other teams that are picking before us — there’s a lot of action, whether it’s the first pick in this case at 55 all the way through the draft when we pick at 249 with our compensatory pick. There will be action. There’s not a bore. There may be a bore from some of the people that are watching the draft from the backseats, but when you’re involved and it is about building your team and you’re very particular about every draft pick, there’s no monotony there for us.

Throughout NFL Draft weekend, beginning Thursday, 33 former players will take to the stage and announce a pick for a team they once played for. When the Falcons make their first selection of the 2012 draft at No. 55 overall, Crumpler will be the one to announce it to the world.

Last year, former Falcons linebacker Jessie Tuggle announced the Falcons’ third-round pick, linebacker Akeem Dent.

We’ll have complete video of the press conference available tonight on AtlantaFalcons.com, but until then, here are three things that struck me in listening to Dimitroff’s plans, philosophy and approach to next week.

Don’t sleep on the trade
The Falcons made huge waves last year in trading up from No. 27 to No. 6 to snag Julio Jones, giving up a handful of picks — including this year’s first- and fourth-rounders — to make the jump. Of course, that limits what Dimitroff can do in this year’s draft, but don’t think for a minute that he’s tossed trade scenarios out the window: “Far be it for us to move around in the draft,” Dimitroff said, tongue planted firmly in cheek, “however, that said, if opportunities present themselves for us to move forward or back, we’d consider it. I do believe we are in a spot right now with our roster that if we feel that, if in fact we remain at (pick No. 55 overall), we believe that we will definitely acquire a player that’s going to be very beneficial to our roster and building this team. We feel confident that there are going to be a lot of good players around 55, as well as 84 (third round) and moving into 157 (fifth round).” Later in his press conference, he added: “We have dialed in on certain players at a number of positions that we would consider moving up for, if, in fact, it presented itself.”

Offensive line is a focus
Dimitroff said that, at this point, he’s got his second-round selection pegged down to just a couple of positions. He wouldn’t expound on that, and rightfully so, with the draft so close, but whatever position he and the front office ultimately decide to go with on that first selection, the offensive line will be somewhere in the back of Dimitroff’s mind throughout the three days of the draft. He explains: “Offensive lines, as a group historically, you’re going to have years where you’re up and, honestly, you can have years that are down and challenging. We, obviously, last year had a challenging year, even though we were sixth in sacks given up. We had some challenges along our offensive line. We feel we have a good core of offensive linemen. There’s no question that we can continue to build our depth along our offensive line. I feel we have some smart guys, I feel we have some tough guys and we feel we have some adept guys as per skills on the field, whether it’s run blocking or pass blocking. We all know how important it is to protect Deuce (Matt Ryan)… We will always consider the possibilities of fortifying that offensive line, and that’s obviously something that we need to be very mindful of if we want to continue to take this to the next level.”

He’s been walking the talk
The sentiment among some fans has been that the Falcons haven’t done enough during the offseason to ensure that they’ll take a step forward when the season kicks off in September. Dimitroff’s stance and rhetoric, however, has always been that a tweak here and there could make all the difference. The Falcons, since the end of the season, have made significant moves in ensuring that talent that was drafted here stays here, and while the movement may not be the influx of outside talent some fans were looking for, it ensures continuity at positions and building on a foundation that has been solid to begin with. Adding to the confidence in what’s already here has been the perspective new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan have brought to the meeting rooms, as they have noticed promise and potential in players that are already on the roster: “We do have a very sound foundation here. We didn’t talk about radically changing this roster. We feel we have a very good foundation, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve in certain areas. Having listened to the coordinators talk about their respective sides of the ball, we realize there are certain positions here that we can go in and really focus on in the draft and one or two here or there where we truly believe that — after all is said and done, we look at it and talk to the coordinators again — they will say this offensive or defensive team is where we want this to be. We feel like we can break through to the next stage.”

This time, he goes through the whole NFC and projects the first three rounds worth of picks. If you have an ESPN Insider pass, click here to view the article.

Kiper previous projected the Falcons to select Illinois offensive lineman Jeff Allen, but that choice has changed now to Iowa State offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele, whose name has been pretty popular on the site this week. Check him out in our Mock Monitor: 11.0.

In the third round, Kiper has the Falcons selecting Miami (Florida) defensive end Oliver Vernon, who started just three games last year and amassed nine sacks during his three-year career with the Hurricanes.

Thoughts?

The NFL is opening up the Combine to 250 rabid, diehard football fans who know how to make a big deal out of .02 seconds and can sustain an argument about the difference between one extra rep at the bench press.

All kidding aside, the NFL is taking applications now for the chance to attend this year’s Combine, which will include the 40-yard dash for quarterbacks and wide receivers as well as position drills, on Feb. 26. The NFL is looking for photo and essay submissions from all applicants.

Better hurry. The Combine starts this week.

Click here to put in an application.

Along with the fan favorites, like the 40-yard dash and the bench press, players will do a wealth of agility position drills to give teams a good look at what they have to offer.

NFL.com’s Mike Mayock explains all the Combine’s ins and outs in this pretty cool interactive feature on NFL.com. If you’re looking to kill some time or learn more about how the Combine works, check it out.

Here are some of Mayock’s positional rankings that could be of interest for the Falcons. Click here to see Mayock’s entire list.

Running Back
1. Trent Richardson, Alabama
2. David Wilson, Virginia Tech
3. Lamar Miller, Miami (Fla.)
4. Doug Martin, Boise State
5. LaMichael James, Oregon

Tight End
1. Orson Charles, Georgia
2. Coby Fleener, Stanford
3. Dwayne Allen, Clemson
4. Deangelo Peterson, LSU
5. Ladarius Green, Louisiana-Lafayette

Rise: Charles
Fall: Allen, Green
New entry: Peterson
Out: Missouri’s Michael Egnew

Tackle
1. Matt Kalil, USC
2. Riley Reiff, Iowa
3. Jonathan Martin, Stanford
4. Mike Adams, Ohio State
5. Cordy Glenn, Georgia

Rise: Kalil
Fall: Reiff
New entry: Glenn (switched groups from interior offensive lineman to tackle)
Out: Troy’s James Brown, Florida State’s Zebrie Sanders

Interior Offensive Lineman
1. David DeCastro, Stanford
2. Peter Konz, Wisconsin
3. Kevin Zeitler, Wisconsin
4. Amini Silatolu, Midwestern State
5. Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State

Fall: Osemele
New entry: Silatolu
Out: Glenn (switched groups from interior offensive lineman to tackle)

Defensive End
1. Melvin Ingram, South Carolina
2. Quinton Coples, North Carolina
3. Andre Branch, Clemson
4. Whitney Mercilus, Illinois
T-5. Vinny Curry, Marshall
T-5. Nick Perry, USC

Rise: Ingram, Branch
Fall: Coples, Mercilus, Perry
New entry: Curry
Out: Syracuse’s Chandler Jones

Cornerback
1. Morris Claiborne, LSU
2. Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama
3. Janoris Jenkins, North Alabama
4. Trumaine Johnson, Montana
5. Leonard Johnson, Iowa State

Rise: Kirkpatrick
Fall: Jenkins, Leonard Johnson
New entry: Trumaine Johnson
Out: Nebraska’s Alfonzo Dennard

March 1: Missouri
March 2: Cincinnati
March 5: Alabama-Birmingham, Hawaii, McNeese State
March 6: Alabama A&M, Arkansas, Auburn, California Lutheran, Clark, Georgia Tech, Rhode Island, Sacramento State, UCLA
March 7: Alabama, California, California-Davis, Colgate, Fordham, Fort Valley, Kent State, Louisville, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma State, Southern California, Texas A&M, UTEP, Wisconsin, Weber State
March 8: Buffalo, Clemson, Colorado, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio, Syracuse, Tulsa, Utah State, Washington, West Texas, Western Kentucky
March 9: Florida International, Montana, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue, TCU, Troy
March 12: Air Force, Arkansas-Monticello, Central Michigan, Central Washington, Pittsburgh
March 13: Ball State, Florida, Kansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Marshall, Maryland, North Texas, Western Michigan
March 14: Bowling Green, Central Arkansas, Central Oklahoma, Florida State, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee Tech
March 15: Delaware State, Louisiana Tech, Michigan, UNLV, Nicholls State, Southern Illinois, Townson, Virginia, Virginia Tech, William & Mary
March 16: James Madison, Missouri State, Oregon State, Richmond, Temple, Tennessee, West Virginia
March 19: Arizona, Florida Atlantic, LSU, Southern, Wake Forest
March 20: Brown, Fresno State, Idaho, Iowa State, Louisiana-Lafayette, North Carolina, North Carolina A&T, South Florida, Texas, Tulane
March 21: Boston College, Nevada, North Carolina State, North Dakota State, Rutgers, San Diego State, San Jose State
March 22: Baylor, Boise State, East Carolina, Maine, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Stanford, Tennessee-Chattanooga
March 23: Jackson State, Missouri Western, N.C. Central, Southern Mississippi, Vanderbilt
March 24: Arizona State
March 27: Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Stephen F. Austin, Washburn
March 28: Central Florida, Connecticut, Northern Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Carolina
March 29: Brigham Young
April 4: SMU
April 6: McNeese State

We’re back with another edition of Mailbag Monday, where I take fan questions that were submitted through Formspring.me and provide them with answers that, in my mind, are informative and well-thought-out.

If you’re interested in having your question be a part of Mailbag Monday, check out my Formspring.me page and submit your question. You can do it completely anonymously and you don’t have to sign up for anything. Easy.

On to the mailbag:

Question: Do you think Michael Jenkins is going to maintain as the No. 2 wide receiver this year?

Answer: I think it’s far too early to give this an in-depth answer because there’s so much that can happen between now and then, but I think Jenkins had a fantastic 2010 season despite missing much of training camp, the entire preseason and the first few weeks of the regular season. I think we saw exactly how much he means to the offense when he was on the shelf early in the season. The only reason I’m hesitant to come out with an emphatic yes has to do with the draft and what the Falcons are targeting. Word around the national media campfire is that a wide receiver could be taken within the first three rounds for the Falcons, so if that’s the case, Jenkins could have some competition heading into camp. But, I’d be very surprised if a rookie was able to unseat him in just one training camp.

Q: How would you feel if the Falcons got Delaware quarterback Pat Devlin in the seventh round?

A: I don’t think quarterback is a need right now (and obviously, we’re talking about backup QBs here), but I guess there’s some question as to how many more seasons Chris Redman has in him. Still, there’s no reason to believe the Falcons would carry, Matt Ryan, Redman, John Parker Wilson and another QB on the roster. Even putting one of them on the practice squad seems to be a stretch. The only reason I could see a quarterback drafted by the Falcons would be to provide some camp competition for the No. 2 spot behind Ryan, perhaps to even push Wilson to a new level. If that’s the case, it really doesn’t matter who the pick would be — Devlin or other — because whoever the second and third QBs are wouldn’t see time with Ryan healthy.

Q: I want to get a friend of mine with much potential a tryout with the Falcons. Got any suggestions?

A: The Falcons don’t hold any sort of open tryouts, so I’m terribly sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Best of luck to your friend, though!

ESPN.com NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas writes more draft gold today, focusing on the past players drafted at the slots of each of the NFC South teams.

The Falcons, in the No. 27 spot, have a solid chance of drafting a high caliber player if history is any indication.

Don’t want to steal any of Pat Y’s thunder, so click here if you want to see his list and analysis.

One thing I will say is that Pat brings up the idea of the Falcons taking a wide receiver with the No. 27 pick if they like the value. I have to tell you, I’m starting to really get on board with that idea.

I know I’ve written about defensive ends to death since the offseason began, but wide receiver would be a very likely option in the first round if there’s one available the Falcons think would be worth taking at No. 27. I actually can see this being so much of an option that the Falcons could even trade back if there’s nothing they like at 27 and know they can get better value in the second.

If Maryland wide receiver Torrey Smith is there, I can see him easily being the choice. If he’s not, I could see receivers like Troy’s Jerrel Jernigan, Boise State’s Titus Young, Miami’s Leonard Hankerson or Kentucky’s Randall Cobb being the pick if the Falcons trade away No. 27 and get into the early part of the second round.

I wrote before about how it generally takes three seasons before a wide receiver really starts to reach his potential, so I think Falcons fans have to be patient with whoever comes in, if the Falcons go that direction in the draft. But, as Yasinskas notes, head coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff have been talking about a need to get more explosive, and taking a wide receiver who can take some pressure off Roddy White would certainly push the offense in that direction.

You know the drill. Vote below.

Now That We’re Closer To The Draft, What Are Your Thoughts On Taking A Wide Receiver Early?Market Research

If you’ve been following along with our weekly Mock Monitor, you may have noticed an absence lately of a particular name that was somewhat intriguing a month ago.

Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph was projected by one of our sampled mocks to be the Falcons’ pick at the No. 27 spot last month, but that has since changed as prognosticators have focused more on defensive end, offensive tackle or cornerback for Atlanta in the first round.

But Rotoworld.com‘s Evan Silva tweeted some comments from NFL Network’s Mike Mayock on Wednesday that suggest Rudolph may still very well be a strong option for the Falcons in the first round.

Here’s Silva’s tweet:

Mayock suggests that the #Falcons will strongly consider Notre Dame TE Kyle Rudolph if they don’t love DLs or WRs on the board at 27.

Before you totally freak out, think about how this works. I’ve said it a million times: There are so many possible scenarios that can occur before the Falcons go on the clock at No. 27. That’s one of the downfalls of picking so late, so the guys in the war room will be prepared for anything.

Let’s say all the defensive linemen the Falcons have targeted are off the board and maybe one or two wide receivers are still there, but they’re sure they will still be around when the Falcons pick in the second round at No. 59 overall. There sits Rudolph, a big, strong, pass-catching tight end with loads of potential.

Granted, tight end isn’t an immediate need with veteran Tony Gonzalez deciding to come back for at least one more season, but you have to assume at 35 years old that the seasons left for him are minimal. Gonzalez has been an integral part of the offense since he was brought in and he’s been one of Matt Ryan’s favorite targets.

Therefore, when Gonzalez does decide to hang up the cleats, you want to have another tight end that can be as productive waiting in the wings for his chance. That’s where Rudolph makes a lot of sense.

If the Falcons do end up taking Rudolph, I urge those of you who are unsure about such a pick to look at the big picture. Think about two or three years from now. Yes, there are positions that can use some help right now, but the great thing about this year’s draft class is that the positions of need are awfully, awfully deep. Great value and talent can be had in the second, third and fourth rounds.

Rudolph is easily the best available tight end in the draft this year and could be an incredible weapon for Ryan down the line. Think Jason Witten for Tony Romo or Owen Daniels for Matt Schaub.

If it comes down to Rudolph, you don’t solve an immediate need, but you satisfy an area that will eventually become an immediate need. By doing that, you can pick for luxury down the line.

So, if this is the pick, I would totally understand the reasoning behind it. But I can also see the other side of it.

The Falcons have never drafted a tight end in the first round in the history of the franchise. Even an extremely productive tight end doesn’t always get close to wide receiver numbers in the box score. Plus, with Gonzalez coming back for the 2011 season, Rudolph doesn’t get much of a chance to contribute right away.

This, probably more than any other, would be a polarizing scenario for Falcons fans to face. You either love it or you hate it.

So tell us. Vote below.

What Would You Think If The Falcons Drafted Kyle Rudolph In The First Round?survey software

Our good friend Pat Yasinskas over at ESPN.com’s NFC South blog is always providing and digging around for insightful information about the division, and he comes up with a pretty good gem today.

He detailed a five-year study of NFL drafts and how all 32 teams did during that window of time when it came to picking the right players.

The NFC South, Yasinskas writes, did pretty good for itself. The Saints rank No. 2 in the study in the past five years. The Falcons were right behind at No. 5. The Bucs came in at No. 10 and Carolina rounded out the division at No. 24, although Yasinskas points out the Panthers’ ranking might be a bit too heavily influenced by last year’s 2-14 season.

The study calls quarterback Matt Ryan the best pick of the past five years for the Falcons. No surprise there.

Of 42 picks in the past five years, 26 are still on the roster. Nine of those players are starters, putting the Falcons right near the top in that category.

Thoughts below. Pick a choice. Press “vote.” Easy as pie.

What Grade Would You Give The Falcons’ Drafts For The Past Five Years?Market Research

I’ve seen a lot of mocks recently, and even some reports, projecting that division rival Carolina could, even should, take Auburn quarterback Cam Newton with the No. 1 overall pick. I’m also seeing that Denver could potentially be interested in taking a quarterback to add to their collection.

Never mind that putting Newton in the NFC South with Matt Ryan, Josh Freeman and Drew Brees would automatically make the division one of the most exciting to watch from a quarterback standpoint. Instead, let’s focus for a moment on how the Panthers taking Newton at the top spot and Denver possibly taking Blaine Gabbert at No. 2 might affect who the Falcons pick.

I can tell what you’re thinking: “Umm, Jay, both of those teams pick at Nos. 1 and 2; we pick at No. 27. How can they possibly have any influence over who the Falcons take?”

Let me run these scenarios by you, grasshopper.

Two quarterbacks coming off the board in the top two picks might send other teams hoping for a signal-caller scrambling. We’ve seen it before when there’s a run on one particular position. Teams that thought they could get some quality at that position in the mid or later part of the first round — heck, even the second round or later — could have their hands forced by Newton and Gabbert coming off the board so quickly.

What does all this mean for the Falcons?

Well, possibly one of two things, in my mind:

1. Newton and Gabbert becoming unavailable causes a domino effect. Teams that originally thought a player like AJ Green, Marcell Dareus, Von Miller, Patrick Peterson or Da’Quan Bowers would have been gone by the time they picked suddenly have those players fall into their laps. Perhaps those teams were expecting to take mid-first talent, but now they’ve got top-tier talent in their grasp. That frees up some of the mid-level talent to fall to the later part of the first round.

2. Newton and Gabbert come off the boards early. This causes teams who may have been interested in taking them to go to Plan B, possibly snapping up players at positions the Falcons might be targeting because there may be no other quarterbacks worth taking in the first round. The sudden run on these targets causes the Falcons to have to address the possibility of trading up in the first round in order to get value that may otherwise not make it down to the No. 27 pick.

Who knows? I’m just thinking aloud in the form of blog post writing.

I think the main lesson we can learn from this is that the draft can fall any which way. If an early team takes a player they’re not expected to pick, it could cause a shift all the way through the rest of the first round — perhaps even further.

What do you think of my morning ramblings?

What Do You Think Is More Likely To Happen If Newton And Gabbert go No. 1 and 2 In The Draft?customer surveys

With so many defensive ends available in the Draft, the Falcons are tied to just about all of them through mock drafts. One in particular was an early favorite for the Falcons to pick at No. 27, but has now by most accounts slipped down into the second round and could be there when the Falcons select at No. 59 overall.

Miami defensive end Allen Bailey is the type of player who could be a steal if he’s still on the board when the Falcons pick in the second round, and a report last week by National Football Post says the Falcons have a strong interest in him.

I like to hear that, but I have to point out that I may be a little biased when it comes to Bailey.

As I’ve mentioned before, I covered Bailey in high school when I was writing for the Savannah Morning News. Bailey was a senior at McIntosh County Academy when I started in Savannah, so I only saw him for a year, but what a year it was.

A lot of people describe watching talented athletes playing in high school like pro players among their fellow classmates. To me, Bailey was like a wild bull unleashed on Pop Warner kids.

In high school, he played inside linebacker and running back. And why not? Who was going to stop him? He was an absolute force on the field.

Of course, high school is no way to judge whether or not to draft a player into the NFL. But after following his career, I’m fairly confident Bailey can make a very smooth transition into the pro level, simply because of having his position changed over and over in college — from linebacker, to defensive end, to defensive tackle and all the way back again.

What is always the big story about Bailey is his upbringing. When I was in Savannah, I was fortunate enough to spend an entire day following him around for a “Day In The Life” piece I was writing, so I got to see these things firsthand.

Bailey is from a small island off the coast of Georgia — Sapelo Island — in a community called Hog Hammock. The population of the island at the time was about 50 people, but Bailey said at the Combine that it’s likely up to about 60 now.

To get to school at McIntosh County Academy, which is on the mainland, Bailey would take a ferry on Monday morning from the island. He’d then drive to school and spend the school week living with one of his coaches before eventually heading back to Sapelo on Friday.

The piece I wrote on Bailey at the time has since disappeared from the Internet, which is a shame because I won one of the biggest writing awards in that state that year for that sucker, but ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach has a fantastic in-depth story of Bailey’s life.

Just some food for thought on Bailey: He’s not some kid who was pampered all his life because of his athletic ability. He’s a kid who spent time in the marshes around the island for fun. He’s got an outdoorsy-ness (not a word, but we’ll use it) to him that easily translates to the football field. He spent his childhood fishing and hunting, because that’s the way of life on Sapelo Island.

And in case you still weren’t sold on him, check this out: He once killed an alligator with merely a shovel.

Tough to argue with that.

What’s your take on Bailey? Let us know by voting below.

What Do You Think Of Miami Defensive End Allen Bailey?customer surveys

By now, I’m hoping that I’ve made Wordles popular enough around here so that all of you know exactly what it is. If you don’t know, you can catch up on how they work by clicking here.

For this week’s Worldle, I wanted to see some so-called NFL Draft big boards. The two I found to be most interesting were those of Scout.com and ESPN’s Mel Kiper. From the big boards, I wanted to see what positions the two found to be the deepest at the top of the Draft.

So I took the positions from each board, plugged them into Wordle and voila (Click on the image to see a larger version):

For anyone who has been following draft coverage anywhere at all, it’s probably no surprise that defensive end is the deepest position among big boards right now. Any talk outside of Cam Newton has revolved around how talented the defensive end class is this year. The prevailing thought amongst experts is that the Falcons are in the market for one of them, so the fact that the class is so deep among the top 25 of these two big boards is certainly good news.

Behind the defensive tackle class, you can see from today’s Wordle that offensive tackle and defensive tackle are also two positions of particular depth in the first round. While it’d be tough to argue that the Falcons would be looking too hard at defensive tackles in the first round, they certainly could be eying up some of the offensive tackles available.

If you look through some of the mock drafts, you’ll likely see that there are some quality offensive tackles expected to still be available when the Falcons pick at No. 27 — including Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi (pictured above) and Colorado’s Nate Solder.

Your turn. Tell us what you think by voting below.

Which Position Class Are You Hoping The Falcons Dip Into In The First Round?customer surveys

A lot of you have asked during the past few weeks if the Falcons have compensatory picks coming to them in April’s NFL Draft.

Well, here’s your answer: Not a single one.

The Falcons weren’t awarded any of the 32 compensatory picks handed out by the league Friday. I won’t attempt to explain this any better than NFL.com did:

“Under the rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks.

The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The 32 compensatory choices announced today will supplement the 221 choices in the seven rounds of the 2011 NFL Draft (April 28-30), which will kick off in primetime for the second consecutive year.”

The Falcons didn’t lose more compensatory free agents last year than they acquired, which would explain the lack of compensatory picks.

The Falcons are still expected to receive the draft picks acquired in the trades of cornerback Chris Houston to Detroit and tackle Quinn Ojinnaka to New England.

There were 23 teams that were awarded compensatory picks, with NFC South rival Carolina making out the best of any of them. The Panthers were awarded three compensatory picks, including one in the third round, because of losing defensive end Julius Peppers to Chicago in free agency.

Click here to see a full list of compensatory picks.

How Do You Feel About Not Being Awarded Compensatory Picks?online survey

Judging from the headline, you probably think that I scrapped the idea of Wordle Wednesday, which premiered last week.

Not a chance.

World Wednesday is back for Round 2, this time with much more data to pour over.

I explained last week that a Wordle can basically be made out of any set of data, but the real challenge is to be able to parse it down so it actually shows something interesting or surprising.

It’s tough to come up with an idea that’s worth putting the time in to research and gather the information, but I think this week’s is a good one.

I decided to go back over the past 10 seasons and see which players have had the most sacks during that time period. I gathered up all players who have recorded a sack in the past 10 years and put them into Wordle. (If a player recorded a half-sack during the season, I just rounded up since there’s no way to illustrate decimals).

The problem was, there were so many entries that just had one or two sacks during those 10 seasons, so I decided to cut those out. Basically, what I ended up with was a Wordle of the players in the past 10 years who have the most sacks — with the minimum number of sacks being five — while with the Falcons.

And here it is (to view this Wordle bigger, just click on the photo):

I can probably guess what you’re thinking.

“OK, great. So, this tells us what exactly?”

Well, the idea behind a Wordle is to input the data and see what the artwork tells you. When I came up with the idea of doing this Wordle, I had no clue what the purpose of it was going to be until I did it.

Once I looked at it, I understood.

This Wordle, to me, illustrates the importance of solid defensive end play. The two biggest names — or the two players with the most sacks during that 10-season period — are John Abraham and Patrick Kerney, both defensive ends.

If you look at the next biggest names, you’ll see Rod Coleman and Brady Smith. Coleman was a defensive tackle, but Smith was a defensive end. So, of the four top sack-getters over the past 10 seasons, three of them are defensive ends.

I think that’s rather telling when we think about the Falcons’ offseason needs. It’s no secret by now that the consensus out there is that the Falcons could use some help in the pass rush department. If today’s Wordle tells us anything, that help should come in the form of a defensive end.

From a productivity standpoint, based on this data, finding a star at that position is the best way to generate more pressure — and more sacks — on opposing quarterbacks.

Should we be surprised by this? No, absolutely not.

This data simply backs up what we already knew: Defensive ends are likely your best chance to create pressure.

Now, give us your take:

What Do You Take From This Week’s Wordle?survey software

You can always count on ESPN.com NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas to come up with some really interesting stats, figures or polls to pour over. He doesn’t disappoint once again, as today he wrote about Falcons defensive end John Abraham being the only top 10 pass-rusher from the NFC South represented in ESPN.com’s pass-rush power rankings.

Pass-rush power rankings, you ask? Certainly. Why not?

Anyway, Abe came in at No. 7 in ESPN.com’s rankings — the lone NFC South representative in the top 10. If we look at the mocks, it’s clear that most experts believe the Falcons are looking to improve the pass rush during the offseason, particular in April’s Draft.

But ESPN.com’s rankings really underscore a problem for the entire NFC South. Apparently, it’s a division that’s keeping opposing quarterbacks safe and sound.

To be fair, Abe did anything but that during a Pro Bowl 2010 season with 13 sacks. But outside of him and Carolina defensive end Charles Johnson, who netted 11.5 sacks during a breakout year, the division lacked in this critical area.

Behind those two in the division were New Orleans defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis with 6 sacks, New Orleans defensive end Will Smith with 5, Tampa Bay defensive end Stylez G. White with 4.5 and then Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux and New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma with 4 in the top 40 pass rushers from the NFC in 2010.

Those numbers pale in comparison to the NFC East, which had 11 players represented in the top 40 pass rushers in the NFC last year and accounted for an astounding 84.5 sacks.

So while the mocks continue to project the Falcons getting deeper and better at pass rush positions, the same will likely be true of other teams in the NFC South.

And with Carolina, Tampa Bay and New Orleans all drafting before the Falcons in the first round, it could be a safe bet to see a pass rusher Atlanta wants on the opposite side of a division rivalry.

Now, to the poll:

What Would Upset You More During The Draft?online surveys

Last week, I shot a blog post out about the numerous ways you can get your questions about the Falcons, or anything else for that matter, answered.

The response was overwhelming and I received a lot of good questions during the weekend, which allows me to start a new feature I’ll call Mailbag Monday (because, around here, we’re pretty big on alliteration; i.e, Wordle Wednesday, Photo Friday, etc.).

If you’re interested in having your questions answered, check me out on Formspring, where you can anonymously submit questions to me without having to sign up for anything. You can always ask your questions on Twitter and Facebook, if you prefer those methods.

I’m just going to select a few questions this week and keep a few for the next few weeks, so if your question isn’t answered here, don’t be discouraged. You’ll likely see it in the next few weeks.

One more thing, I’ll always take the questions and apply them here as you write them. I won’t edit them at all, so that in most cases we don’t lose the meaning or context of a question. Therefore, if you’re a stickler on grammar, spelling and punctuation, check your question before submitting. If not, no worries. I can decipher darn near anything.

Anyway, on to the mailbag:

Question: do u know u r the luckiest guy? to be able to hang with th Falcons all the time? Jay i may not know every single detail about the guys but i have been a Falcon fan since i was little. i love my Falcons…..

Answer: Yes, I do know that I’m extremely lucky to be doing what I’m doing right now. Every morning I walk in the building, I take a moment to remind myself of where I started out and the dreams I had and how I’ve accomplished those goals I set for myself. It’s an amazing feeling when you get to a point you’ve always hoped you could, so if you’re currently working toward a goal right now, I highly recommend seeing it through, no matter how difficult things get. The payoff is totally worth it.

Q: Will Gonzalez be back next season?

A: Yes, from all indication, Tony Gonzalez will be back for the 2011 season.

Q: What is the status of Jerious Norwood? Will he be back as a Falcon this year?

A: I’ve heard nothing new about Jerious since he went on injured reserve, so I don’t know if he’ll be back this season. As soon as I know something, I’ll be sure to post it, but as of right now, he’s still a Falcon.

Q: do you have any inside information on the Falcons cheerleaders?

A: They’re currently in a very busy time of the year. Preliminary auditions took place yesterday and the field was cut down to, I believe, around 40 finalists. Those finalists will audition again Thursday night and then the final 2011 team will be named after that round. We’ll be streaming the final auditions live Thursday night, so definitely check that out. That’s all the inside information I have on the cheerleaders, but something tells me that wasn’t the purpose of the question…

Q: What position would you personally like to see the Falcons address in the first round?

A: I’ve said several times that people are going to have a hard time pinning me down to one pick I’d like to see the Falcons take in the first round. Positions are another story, but I doubt my answer is going to be all that satisfying to folks who want to get that one, solid, concrete answer from me (which, by the way, would likely be incorrect come the first round anyway). I’ll say this: I could see defensive end or offensive line addressed in the first round. I’ve looked at all the mocks and the roster and I’ve basically narrowed it down to these two positions. Is that what will happen? Possibly not. Well, probably not. The front office doesn’t ask my opinion on who we should draft, and rightfully so. But those two positions seem to make the most sense. I’ll also say that I could see a trade-back scenario or a best-player-available scenario happening. It’s too soon to tell and we’re picking too late to get a good read on something so specific.

Q: When did you decide you wanted to cover sports and why?

A: Honestly, I don’t know if it was ever a conscious decision. Sports have always been a huge part of my life. You name it, I played it. I played offensive line throughout high school and a year at the D-III level, but decided I was way too short to get any significant playing time, so I hung up the spikes. I guess a huge part of me wanted to keep sports in my life in some capacity, and since I was in school to become a writer, covering sports just seemed to be the natural fit. I spent six years in newspapers, covering every sport under the sun — from wrestling to regattas — but pro football was and will always be my passion. Covering sports allows you the leeway to have fun with what you’re doing. After all, at the end of the day, these are just games. What’s more fun than that? If you’re looking to get into covering sports, my biggest advice to you is to not take yourself too seriously.

Q: The extra draft picks the Falcons receive from the Quinn trade to NE and the Chris Houston trade to Detroit (especially) are all over the place. Which picks do the Falcons get, per the Falcons?

A: Excellent question, and to preface, the asker is referring to the compensatory picks the Falcons are due to receive because of the trades of Quinn Ojinnaka and Chris Houston. The answer is that there is no answer yet. These picks are usually named during the owners meetings, which are occurring this week in New Orleans. What I’m hearing is that those picks will now be announced at a later date. So, sit tight. We may not know for a bit.

Most folks think of Facebook and Twitter as all of social media. Truth is, there are a slew of social media sites and technologies popping up all over the place.

Take, for instance, Foursquare — a geolocating social medium, which means you check in at the places you go and earn points for it to compete with your friends (you can friend me there).

Formspring.me has been around for a little while, but it hasn’t gathered a whole lot of steam. Basically, Formspring.me allows you to ask questions to someone who creates a profile completely anonymously, if you wish.

So, I created an account. While I’m completely accessible on Facebook and Twitter, you can now go to my Formspring.me profile and ask me any question you’d like about the Falcons, our coverage on AtlantaFalcons.com or whatever you like without the hassle of people, or me, knowing who you are.

Each week, I’ll compile a few of the best questions and answer them in a mailbag post.

Go here to ask me a question. No need to create your own profile if you don’t want to.

You’re probably wondering what a Wordle is. I don’t blame you. First of all, it’s not a real word. Secondly, it could be darn near anything.

It could be a type of food: “Yes, I’ll take an order of Wordle to go, please.”

It could be a destination: “OMG, I’m, like, so excited to spend spring break in Wordle this year. Lolz.” (By the way, never, ever “lolz.” Ever.)

It could be an animal: “Yes, hello? Exterminators? Hey, I’ve got a Wordle living under my front porch and it keeps scaring the kids, and I’m pretty sure it ate the mailman.”

A Wordle, I’ll have you know, is none of these things. (But feel free to use them in any of these scenarios, as long as you don’t “lolz.”)

Wordle is an online software that takes data and creates an eye-pleasing graphic based on the number of times a certain piece of datum is used.

For example, the Wordle I did for this week’s Wordle Wednesday is simple: What positions have the Falcons most often drafted in the first round?

So, I took that question and went back, organized the data, plugged that information into Wordle and bam! Art.

More than just something fun to look at, it tells you — based on the size of each word — how much of a discrepancy there is between the positions. The larger a position name is displayed, the more often it has been drafted by the Falcons in the first round. The smaller a position name, the less often it has been drafted by the Falcons in the first round.

Get it?

I know this one is tough because there are some words that appear to be the same size, so I’ll give you the actual numbers:

• Offensive Tackle: 6
• Running Back: 6
• Wide Receiver: 5
• Quarterback: 5
• Defensive End: 5
• Defensive Tackle: 5
• Cornerback: 5
• Linebacker: 4
• Guard: 2
• Safety: 2
• Tight End: 1

There you have it. The first ever Wordle Wednesday. There will be more of these to come. Now, the obligatory poll:

What Surprises You Most About This Week’s Wordle?Market Research

It started with mock drafts and now it’s moved to blog posts with facts to back it up: It seems the Falcons are looking for help at wide receiver.

More than one mock draft has the Falcons going with a wideout with the No. 27 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, but friend of the site and ESPN.com NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas reports the Falcons held a private workout with East Carolina wide receiver Dwayne Harris. The Falcons will also have “at least one representative to Cincinnati’s pro day to see receiver Vidal Hazelton,” Yasinskas wrote.

It doesn’t surprise me to see this kind of news as general manager Thomas Dimitroff, the scouts and the coaching staff do their due diligence on every position there is to look at.

If the guys at the top decide to take a wideout, I’ll caution fans to temper expectations for what that wide receiver will be able to accomplish in the first three years of his career.

It’s pretty common knowledge around the league that wideouts tend to take a while to develop. There are a few exceptions, of course, but those exceptions are few and far between. Perhaps the only wide receiver in this Draft that could contribute at a high level right away is Georgia’s A.J. Green.

Everyone else could need one, two or even three years to start producing on a consistent level. Even wide receivers like Detroit’s Calvin Johnson needed a year to find his stride. Houston’s Andre Johnson did, too.

Is it possible to hit the jackpot with a wideout who can unexpectedly become a pivotal part of the offense right away? Sure. But, judging by history, it doesn’t seem likely.

What’s your take? Let us know below.

Should the Falcons Draft a Wide Receiver with the No. 27 Pick?online survey