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By Jeremy Bergman NFL.com
With the 2017 NFL campaign in the rearview, draft season's about to kick into high gear. But before we completely shift over to the Class of 2018, let's review the returns from this past season's crop of rookies. Division-by-division, we're providing grades on each team's 2017 draft class, as well as identifying areas that must be upgraded this offseason. Jeremy Bergman examines the NFC South below.
Atlanta Falcons
Round 1: (No. 26 overall) Takkarist McKinley, DE, 16 games/0 starts.
Round 3: (75) Duke Riley, LB, 12 games/6 starts.
Round 4: (136) Sean Harlow, G, 0 games/0 starts.
Round 5: (149) Damontae Kazee, CB, 16 games/1 start; (156) Brian Hill, RB, 1 game/0 starts; (174) Eric Saubert, TE, 14 games/0 starts.
The Falcons needed help in the front seven, and they got it when they traded up for McKinley. A hyperemotional fan favorite from Day 1, Takk further endeared himself to Atlantans with a six-sack rookie season, nearly matching top overall pick Myles Garrett. But outside of the rambunctious pass rusher, the Falcons saw little initial return on their draft investments. Riley, Kazee and Saubert played for a sizable part of their first seasons, but the #JuryIsOut on all of them. Riley suffered a midseason knee injury that kept him from improving and cementing a starting role, and both Riley and Kazee played in less than a quarter of Atlanta's defensive snaps. GRADE: C+...
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