2001 first-overall draft pick Michael Vick during the 2006 season.

The Atlanta Falcons, a professional American football team based in Atlanta, are part of the National Football Conference South Division. They joined the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion team for the 1966 season and became the first NFL franchise in the Southeastern United States.[1] They first participated in the 1966 NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, more commonly known as the NFL draft.[2] In the NFL Draft, each NFL franchise annually seeks to add new players to its roster. Teams are ranked in reverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, the second-worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.[3]

In their first draft, the Falcons had two picks in the first round.[4] These selections were Tommy Nobis, a linebacker from Texas, and Randy Johnson, a quarterback from Texas A&I. The Falcons have selected number one overall four times: Tommy Nobis, Steve Bartkowski, Aundray Bruce, and Michael Vick. The team has also selected number two overall three times and number three overall two times. The Falcons have selected players from Florida State University four times, the most from any university. The team's most recent first-round selection was Drake London, a wide receiver from the University of Southern California.

Key

Table key
^ Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
 *  Selected number one overall
— The Falcons did not draft a player in the first round that year.
Year Each year links to an article about that particular NFL Draft.
Pick Indicates the number of the pick within the first round
Position Indicates the position of the player in the NFL
College The player's college football team

Player selections

Sam Baker was selected by the Falcons in 2008.
Atlanta Falcons first-round draft picks
Season Pick Player name Position College Notes
1966 1 Tommy Nobis * Linebacker Texas
1966 15 Randy Johnson Quarterback Texas A&M–Kingsville
1967 — — No pick — — [a]
1968 3 Claude Humphrey^ Defensive end Tennessee State
1969 2 George Kunz Offensive tackle Notre Dame
1970 12 John Small Linebacker The Citadel
1971 7 Joe Profit Running back Louisiana–Monroe
1972 15 Clarence Ellis Safety Notre Dame
1973 — — No pick — — [b]
1974 — — No pick — — [c]
1975 1 Steve Bartkowski * Quarterback California [d]
1976 9 Bubba Bean Running back Texas A&M
1977 6 Warren Bryant Offensive tackle Kentucky
1977 20 Wilson Faumuina Defensive tackle San Jose State [e]
1978 13 Mike Kenn Offensive tackle Michigan
1979 17 Don Smith Defensive end Miami (FL)
1980 7 Junior Miller Tight end Nebraska
1981 25 Bobby Butler Cornerback Florida State
1982 9 Gerald Riggs Running back Arizona State
1983 16 Mike Pitts Defensive end Alabama
1984 9 Rick Bryan Defensive tackle Oklahoma
1985 2 Bill Fralic Offensive tackle Pittsburgh [f]
1986 2 Tony Casillas Defensive tackle Oklahoma
1986 17 Tim Green Linebacker Syracuse [g]
1987 12 Chris Miller Quarterback Oregon
1988 1 Aundray Bruce * Linebacker Auburn
1989 5 Deion Sanders^ CB Florida State
1989 27 Shawn Collins Wide receiver Northern Arizona [h]
1990 20 Steve Broussard Running back Washington State [i][j]
1991 3 Bruce Pickens Cornerback Nebraska
1991 13 Mike Pritchard Wide receiver Colorado [i]
1992 8 Bob Whitfield Offensive tackle Stanford [k]
1992 19 Tony Smith Running back Southern Miss
1993 9 Lincoln Kennedy Offensive tackle Washington
1994 — — No pick — — [l]
1995 26 Devin Bush Sr. Safety Florida State [m]
1996 — — No pick — — [l]
1997 11 Michael Booker Cornerback Nebraska [n]
1998 12 Keith Brooking Linebacker Georgia Tech
1999 30 Patrick Kerney Defensive end Virginia
2000 — — No pick — — [o]
2001 1 Michael Vick * Quarterback Virginia Tech [p]
2002 18 T. J. Duckett Running back Michigan State [q]
2003 — — No pick — — [r]
2004 8 DeAngelo Hall Cornerback Virginia Tech
2004 29 Michael Jenkins Wide receiver Ohio State [s]
2005 27 Roddy White Wide receiver UAB
2006 — — No pick — — [t]
2007 8 Jamaal Anderson Defensive end Arkansas [u]
2008 3 Matt Ryan Quarterback Boston College
2008 21 Sam Baker Offensive tackle USC [v]
2009 24 Peria Jerry Defensive tackle Ole Miss
2010 19 Sean Weatherspoon Linebacker Missouri
2011 6 Julio Jones Wide receiver Alabama [w]
2012 — — No pick — — [w]
2013 22 Desmond Trufant Cornerback Washington [x]
2014 6 Jake Matthews Offensive tackle Texas A&M
2015 8 Vic Beasley Outside linebacker Clemson
2016 17 Keanu Neal Strong Safety Florida
2017 26 Takkarist McKinley Defensive end UCLA [y]
2018 26 Calvin Ridley Wide receiver Alabama
2019 14 Chris Lindstrom Offensive guard Boston College
2019 31 Kaleb McGary Offensive tackle Washington [z]
2020 16 A. J. Terrell Cornerback Clemson
2021 4 Kyle Pitts Tight end Florida
2022 8 Drake London Wide receiver USC
2023 8 Bijan Robinson Running back Texas

Footnotes

  • n The Falcons acquired this pick along with the second, third, and fourth-round picks from the Seattle Seahawks for the #11 overall pick along with the third-round pick.[5]
  • o The Falcons traded their #5 overall pick to the Baltimore Ravens for the 1999 second-round pick.[5]
  • p The Falcons traded their #5 overall pick along with wide receiver Tim Dwight, the 2002 second and 2001 third-round picks to the San Diego Chargers for the #1 overall pick.[9]
  • q The Falcons traded their #17 overall pick to the Oakland Raiders for the #18 overall pick and the fifth-round pick.[5]
  • r The Falcons traded their #23 overall pick to the Buffalo Bills for wide receiver Peerless Price.[10]
  • s The Falcons traded their second, third, and fourth-round picks to the Indianapolis Colts for the #29 overall and third-round picks.[5]
  • t The Falcons traded their #15 overall pick to the Denver Broncos for the #29 overall, third-round and a 2007 fourth-round picks. The Falcons then traded the #29 overall pick to the New York Jets for defensive end John Abraham.[11]
  • u The Falcons traded their #10 overall pick and quarterback Matt Schaub to the Houston Texans for the #8 overall, second-round, and 2008 second-round picks.[12]
  • v The Falcons traded two second-round picks and a fourth-round pick to the Washington Redskins for the #21 overall pick along with the third and fifth-round picks.[13]
  • w 1 2 The Falcons traded their #27 overall pick along with second-round, fourth-round and a 2012 first-round and fourth-round picks to the Cleveland Browns for the #6 overall pick .[14]
  • x The Falcons traded their #30 overall pick along with third- (92nd), and sixth- (198th) round selections to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for St. Louis 2013 #22nd overall pick along with a 7th-round selection.
  • y The Falcons traded their #31 overall pick along with third- (95th), and seventh- (249th) round selections to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Seattle's 2017 #26th overall pick.[15]
  • z The Falcons traded picks #45(second round) and #79 (third round) to the Los Ángeles Rams. In exchange, the Falcons got the Rams' #31 and #203 (sixth round) Picks[16]

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ Goodman, Michael E. (2004). The History of the Atlanta Falcons. The Creative Company. p. 1968. ISBN 1-58341-287-5. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
  2. ^ Branch, John (April 9, 2000). "The 2000 Liars Club/ Draft makes Broncos coach cloak intentions". Colorado Springs Gazette. findarticles.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  3. ^ Alder, James. "NFL Draft Basics:Determining Order of Selection". football.about.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  4. ^ "Timeline 1960's". Atlanta Falcons. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Trade History". Atlanta Falcons. Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
  6. ^ "Pro Football Draft History 1977". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  7. ^ "Pro Football Draft History 1990". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on September 9, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  8. ^ "Pro Football Draft History 1992". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  9. ^ "Birds flap to the top". CNN/Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. April 20, 2001. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  10. ^ Hack, Damon (March 8, 2003). "Bills Trade Price and Make Offer to the Bengals' Spikes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  11. ^ Pasquarelli, Len (March 23, 2006). "Falcons send pick to Denver to get Abraham from Jets". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  12. ^ Pasquarelli, Len (March 22, 2007). "Falcons agree to deal backup QB Schaub to Houston". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  13. ^ Jason Reid and Jason La Canfora (April 27, 2008). "A Show of Hands for Redskins". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2008.
  14. ^ "Cleveland Browns select Baylor defensive lineman Phil Taylor after busy night of draft trading". The Plain Dealer. April 28, 2011. Archived from the original on May 2, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  15. ^ Patra, Kevin (April 27, 2017). "Falcons trade up to #26". NFL. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  16. ^ Comeaux, Jonathan (April 25, 2019). "Trade Details: Falcons trade up to select OT Kaleb McGary". NFL Trade Rumors. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.

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