Atlanta Falcons Draft: Busty Edition

Get your mind out of the gutter. We are here to talk about draft busts not the other type of busts. Hit me up on twitter or e-mail and we can chat about those busts. Anyway, every franchise has that pick that keeps their fan base up at night. Every team has had that GM that the fans know they could outperform. In the back of every fans mind on draft day is the fear that the guy you pick is going to be a bust. Looking back at the last 20 years in Falcons First Round draft picks here are my 3 biggest draft busts:

#3 Jamaal Anderson- DE- Arkansas

Thank you Bobby Petrino. The only thing we can thank Bobby Petrino for is the fact that when he left we hired a competent coach and GM. Jamaal Anderson was the #8 pick of the 2007 season. He was picked before Darrelle Revis and Patrick Willis. In 3 years he’s played 24 games and in those games he has only 2.5 sacks. Last year he had 0.5 sacks. He was supposed to be a guy who would come in and use his athleticism and speed to get to the quarterback. Well that hasn’t happened and I don’t see it happening. If we had a salary cap this year I don’t think he would make it out of training camp. Jamaal is still on the team so he still has the opportunity to prove me wrong.

#2 Michael Booker- DB- Nebraska

Booker was the #11 overall pick in the 1997 draft. The #12 pick was Warrick Dunn and the #13 pick was Tony Gonzales. It’s odd that both of those guys ended up with the Falcons during their prolific careers. Booker only played for the Falcons for 3 years and only started 9 games. In his career for the Falcons he totaled 6 interceptions and recovered a fumble (which makes him better then the next guy on this list). His Wikipedia page says “Booker admitted that he did not like playing in the NFL as much as he enjoyed playing in college”. I don’t know if that’s true but it’s logically. He was good in college. He sucked in the pros. Odds are he was happier when he was actually performing at a high level.

#1 Bruce Pickens- DB- Nebraska

What is it about those Nebraska defensive backs and the Atlanta Falcons. It’s almost like the current Virginia Tech curse that we have (Michael Vick, Meangelo Hall, Jimmy Williams). Pickens was the #3 overall pick in the 1991 draft. Toddy Lyght went #5 in this draft (which admittedly looks like a really, really poor draft overall). Pickens only played for the Falcons for 2 and a half years and started only 4 games. During that time he totaled 1 sack and 2 interceptions. Now that’s production! This guy was so much of a non-factor that I had to go to Eric Dickerson’s Wikipedia page to find out what happened to him. On October 13, 1993 the Falcons traded Eric Dickerson and Bruce Pickens to Green Bay for RB John Stephens. Who? And according to NFL.com Stephens never actually played in any games for the Falcons.

Now for the good news. In the past the Falcons management had a less than stellar track record but they have found a guy in Thomas Dimetroff that I really have a lot of confidence in. In 3 off-seasons he brought in Michael Turner, Tony Gonzales and now Dunta Robinson. In one draft he drafted Matt Ryan, Curtis Lofton, Sam Baker, Harry Douglas, Thomas DeCoud and Kroy Biermann. Last year the rookies struggled with injury (Peria Jerry and William Moore) but I have confidence they will bounce back this year (especially with Peria Jerry). The majority of the Atlanta Falcons short history has been up and down. Last year was actually the first time in franchise history that the team has posted back to back winning seasons. Not drafting busts and winning the draft is how the good teams continue to have winning seasons year after year. More drafts like the 2008 draft will make the Falcons into a legit Championship contender.