So naturally, even when the Falcons are winning we still have some fans in Atlanta who are upset.
Instead of just being happy that your favorite football team is not 1-9, some fans like to take the “glass half empty” approach and find something to be upset about.
After the Falcons 29-3 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, I had dozens of callers on my postgame show the “Falcon Flyover” who claimed that this new-found winning is bad for the Falcons because it is messing up their future draft pick.
The beauty of the NFL draft is that you can find stars in any round.
In the last 25 years, the NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year have come from a plethora of different draft spots.
Sure, there are plenty who were top-5 picks. Cam Newton, Sam Bradford, Matt Ryan, Ndamukong Suh, Von Miller, and Julius Peppers all were taken with the first five picks of their respected draft.
However, there’s plenty of other ROTYs who were not top-5 picks (OBJ, Eddie Lacy, Ben Roethlisberger, Anquan Boldin, Clinton Portis, Randy Moss, Aaron Donald, Patrick Willis, Terrell Suggs, Brian Urlacher, and even our own Hugh Douglas in 1995).
In fact, over the past 25 years, the number of Offensive/Defensive Rookie of the Year winners who were taken inside of the top five versus outside of the is about even.
Now, there is truth that more Hall of Famers have come from the first-overall selection than any other selection. But the Falcons weren’t getting the No. 1 pick anyway.
This idea that the Falcons are messing up their future by winning games and getting a worse draft pick is insane.
Sure, it would be really nice to have a top-3 draft pick and guarantee the Falcons get the 'best pass-rusher in the draft.' But it’s not the end of the world if they get the second best or even third best best-rusher in the draft.
You know why? Because the guy who’s the best at his positon coming out of the draft each year does not always end up being the best player at his position from that draft class when it’s all said and done.
Here’s the bottom line. Drafting a good player in the NFL takes a number of factors including scouting, management and yes, dumb luck.
Stop worrying about the difference between picking sixth overall and 14th and just enjoy the fact that this team went from needing a total rebuild, to maybe just needing a coordinator change and some younger talent.