Falcons select Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon
Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon celebrates after making a tackle against Bowling Green during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. (Associated Press)
FLOWERY BRANCH — Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon slipped into the back room to take the call from the Falcons.
Enlarge photo
He had about 20 family members and friends at his viewing party, when Falcons director of player personnel Les Snead called.
“I was smiling from ear to ear, but I knew it was about to go down,” Weatherspoon said.
Falcons head coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff meet with the media after selecting Sean Weatherspoon. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC).
The Falcons decided not to make a trade down with Denver and chose to select Weatherspoon with the 19th pick in the 2010 NFL draft Thursday night.
“We really felt that a cover-type linebacker, who has speed and flies around the football, was in our best interest,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “We got the guy we were targeting all along.”
The Falcons also considered taking Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan, Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham and Florida center Maurkice Pouncey. After discussing the draft with Pittsburgh’s Kevin Colbert, the Falcons knew the Steelers had zeroed in on Pouncey. Philadelphia made a trade up to get Graham at 13, and Morgan went to Tennessee at 16.
“We felt that we were zeroed in on Sean Weatherspoon,” Dimitroff said. “We didn’t want to try to be cute and creative. We decided to pull that tag off the board at 19.”
The Falcons didn’t use their allotted 10 mintues. They made the call to New York around the five-minute mark.
Spoon was thoroughly scouted by the Falcons and built up a huge Atlanta following on his Twitter.com page. Before the pick was announced, Weatherspoon, who goes by SeanWSpoon12 on twitter.com, shot out a tweet.
“I’m a falcon!!!” was sent by SeanWSpoon12 at 9:30.
“I wanted to let my fans know,” Weatherspoon said. “As far as Twitter, the Atlanta fans have been showing me nothing but love the whole time throughout this process. They have been tweeting me every day wishing that I became a Falcon.”
Weatherspoon, who led the Tigers in tackles over the past three seasons, is considered an outside linebacker.
The Falcons believe that Weatherspoon can help them in pass coverage. Weatherspoon played in the Big 12 and faced a lot of pass-happy spread offenses. His coverage skills are solid.
“He was able to play out in space,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “I’ve said many times that the game is becoming a spacing game. I think it’s definitely an advantage to have guys that can run and matchup with tight ends and running backs that we are going to face in our division.”
The Falcons are hoping that Weatherspoon will compete with Mike Peterson and Stephen Nicholas for one of the starting outside linebacker positions. Peterson turns 34 in June.
The linebacker unit was strong against the run last season, but had issues in pass coverage. The unit was 28th in the league (242.1 yards per game) against the pass.
The draft continues Friday with the second and third rounds. The Falcons do not have a second-round pick. They sent it to Kansas City as part of the Tony Gonzalez deal last season.
However, Dimitroff said they are exploring trade possibilities to get into the middle or lower third of the second round.
“We have gotten calls, we still have opportunities,” Dimitroff said. “We just need to determine if that’s worth it.”
The Falcons have two picks in the third round, the 83rd and 98th overall picks in the draft.
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95 comments Add your comment
How About That
April 23rd, 2010
1:05 am
Enter your comments here
falcons pick(ed) spoon
April 23rd, 2010
1:38 am
Just watched a couple of interviews of spoon on youtube. Great, humble kid. Will immediately provide leadership. As falcon fans, we gotta be thankful for the building blocks on defense. Lofton, Decoud, Jerry, Moore, Owens, Spoon, and thats not counting Beerman and Sidbury. Can’t wait to see what tommorrow holds. If Tate and Benn continue to slip, look forward to the Falcons getting into the second. If they manage to get their hands on one of the two, this offense will be SCARY.
Sly Ty
April 23rd, 2010
1:57 am
I don’t think we need to move around at all today. At the end of the 3rd round, we will have 3 draft choices just like the majority of the teams in the league. The Draft is deep this season, and we should be able to get our future center and tight end in the 3rd round with our 2 picks. TD has come through yet again. New Orleans, the party is officially OVER.
The Grinch
April 23rd, 2010
2:37 am
I agree in general, but I’d still like to see a McCluster/Norwwod swap.
MaxxFalcon
April 23rd, 2010
3:25 am
Told you!
Jeff
April 23rd, 2010
6:14 am
This will be another Jamaal Anderson pick
Seattle Falcons Fan
April 23rd, 2010
7:02 am
Hey DLed……. what’s it going to take to get up into the second round? Any Chance we could trade our 1st 3rd and our 4th or 5th? I would love to see us move up into the 2nd and take Golden Tate Then take Matt Tennant with our 2nd 3rd. I like the Spoon pick! TD must be sold on him not to have moved at all. Now we’ve got a real line backing core. Petterson, Lofton, and Spoon. Nichols can rotate out. Suddenly our pass protection just got a little bit better via Daunta and Spoon.
Bird Droppings
April 23rd, 2010
7:03 am
D-Led
What happened to The Polian Plan?
BFALCON
April 23rd, 2010
7:07 am
Love the Weatherspoon pick.If the Falcons could trade up to take Everson Griffen or C.Dunlop, it would be a steal. If they stand pat, I say pick Carlton Mitchell in 3rd and a corner, 4th pick M.Tennant or JD Walton. If the Falcons have to wait on a DE, I like Greg Hardy. Various people tell me he is a better prospect than Peria Jerry was when he came out. His injury history will cause him to drop. DOL, I glad your boy Pouncey went to the Steelers. Also, my inside scoop says the Falcons really like Golden Tate and he could be the 2nd rnd target.
joswald
April 23rd, 2010
7:27 am
Getting back into the 2nd? Say goodbye to 2 of the 3…Norwood, Abraham and Jenkins
egeagle
April 23rd, 2010
7:38 am
Solid job by the Birds. On a side note, can you imagine the crazy Denver attack with Knowshon, Tebow, and BayBay. Wait until Denver runs a play in which Tebow hands off to KM, KM laterals to BayBay, and BayBay floats a pass to Tebow. A Dawg,a Gator, and a Jacket-What a combo!!
Ackshun
April 23rd, 2010
7:44 am
Now grab Sharper out of free agency and the tallest fastest CB available in the 3rd round and the defense just went from worst to first.
Then OL OL OL OL OL OL !
marko
April 23rd, 2010
7:51 am
Now that we have a spoon, we can fork the Saints.
Seattle Falcons Fan
April 23rd, 2010
7:56 am
DLED- what do you think it’s going to take to move up into the second round?
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April 23rd, 2010
8:02 am
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RGO67
April 23rd, 2010
8:05 am
Welcome to the A SPOON!!! Now let’s go out and get some more PLAYMAKERS!!
Editor, too
April 23rd, 2010
8:08 am
You fixed “builted.” That’s good, but “The linebacker unit was strong against the run last season, but had issues in pass coverage. The unit was 28th in the league (242.1 yards per game) against the pass.” still reads as if the linebacking corps was solely responsible for pass defense. Is clarity not important to you? At least as important as erasing critical posts?
How2fish
April 23rd, 2010
8:11 am
I can’t comment until FALCONS SORRY give us his wit and wisdom on this pick….I am however hopeful he will bring his elevated level of football knowledge and passion for the Falcons and give us all the insight on this pick we need to know…and he will do it with CAPS..
Seattle Falcons Fan
April 23rd, 2010
8:13 am
That’s funny……made me laugh a little…..
Seattle Falcons Fan
April 23rd, 2010
8:14 am
Talking about the HOW2FISH comment
dan
April 23rd, 2010
8:27 am
Now that I think about it, I’m glad Weatherspoon dropped to us. Initially I wanted Graham, but you know what: he could very well one of those players that has topped out physically. And I think Derrick Morgan is overrated and will get exposed at the next level because he’s not a great pass rusher. This was the right pick all along.
Blaine
April 23rd, 2010
8:32 am
What happened to Sergio Kindle? I thought he was supposed to be taken before Spoon. Then he slipped out of the 1st round is he hurt? Anyway Spon is a great pick and I will shore up the LBs and make the pass D better.
Ms Chelle
April 23rd, 2010
8:34 am
THAT’S WHAT’S UP ‘FALCONS’ OH YEAH!…LET’S GET, GET, GET IT!!!!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE
Ms Chelle
April 23rd, 2010
8:36 am
WELCOME TO THE ATL…..SIR SEAN!!!!!!!!
Keith
April 23rd, 2010
8:39 am
Good pick. Now trade up to the second round and get an end who is a solid pass rusher. It was chicken vs. egg last season. Was the pass D bad because of the rush or the coverage. Both.
HUH??
April 23rd, 2010
8:47 am
ANOTHER BAD PICK!!!GET MORE WEAPONS AROUND YOUR QB (COLTS,SAINTS,COWBOYS)…YOU COULD GET A LB IN THE NEXT ROUND!!!
Johnny Ryall
April 23rd, 2010
9:20 am
Great pick. Just another example of the kind of leadership we have in TD and Coach Smith. These guys know what they’re doing. Can you imagine what the fans in Jacksonville are thinking this morning? Those jokers are clueless on draft day.
Glenn
April 23rd, 2010
9:25 am
They should have traded down . They could have got that guy around 30 & got more picks to boot . The Patriots are so good at that .
Hamp
April 23rd, 2010
9:26 am
I just want to say MEL KIPER JR IS A MORON!!! I was already pissed off becuase the charge for is pitiful insight he has not been right in years Mike Mayock runs circles around him.
I wanted spoon or graham. Glad we got spoon. Welcome to the “A” make us proud.
Hamp
April 23rd, 2010
9:41 am
sorry for the errors folks
fanATicaL
April 23rd, 2010
9:50 am
Now lets get the other Graham.That would be the TE Jimmy Graham and RB/WR/PR McClusky.Matt Tenant and last but not least Danario Alexander
Rick Z
April 23rd, 2010
9:55 am
Oh good, for the second year in a row we take a player off a college defense that hasn’t been able to stop any decent team in its conference.
JSD
April 23rd, 2010
9:55 am
This will be good for the team. Good leader & fast too boy! He will make quarterbacks shake in their britches. This pick reminds me of one time in high school this dude walked into homeroom & said, “Hey everybody, I set a dog on fire over the weekend!” He was later arrested. What a mistake he made.
BG
April 23rd, 2010
9:56 am
I hope the falcons pick up Rennie Curran.
Iceman
April 23rd, 2010
10:04 am
Another great pick by Dimitroff! Welcome to Atlanta, Sean!
binger
April 23rd, 2010
10:20 am
I like the Dez Bryant idea. I was hopeful for a super tandem of rcvr. w/ roddy. Maybe $$$ too difficult w/ a brighter star??? Spoon a good choice though….best offense is a superior defense….I just hope he can step up & help out 2010….Welcome Spoon!!
NEW CARS
April 23rd, 2010
10:21 am
Maybe we can give up next year’s second and a 6 or 7 pick for a second rounder and go after an OT like Saffold or Bruce Campbell to improve the OL…Later I would sure like us to get Jordan Shipley…I think he would be great across from Roddie White…If Dwyer keeps dropping he could be a successor to Turner….I’m stoked about the direction this team is heading.
Brill
April 23rd, 2010
10:25 am
I love the pick myself. I feel SO much more comfortable when I see Smitty and TD working the draft than what we used to have. Remember Bruce Pickens and Aundrey Bruce ? And look how the Ryan pick worked out, Rookie of the Year 2008.
Brill
April 23rd, 2010
10:29 am
Oh, and welcome to Atlanta, Spoon ! Between him and Daunta (sp) Robinson, I feel like we have upgraded on the D. One question, will Harry Douglas be able to play this year ? If so, he is the offensive help that Ryan needs that we keep forgetting about. Can’t wait till September !
OldeFan
April 23rd, 2010
11:01 am
There it was! A reference to Aundrey Bruce! No Falcon draft-day discussion is official until that terminal blunder is thrown out there. We can afford to laugh now – since we have T.D., coach Smith, and Mr. Blank. Took long enough to get here…
DawgDad
April 23rd, 2010
12:40 pm
I’m feeling real good about the Falcons. 9-7 with a killer schedule and NO contribution from the #1 and #2 draft picks last year, now get them back plus this year’s draft, Robinson, etc. Looking real good for this year and into the future. There is now a substantial core of very young quality talent on the D-side; tremendous upside potential. Effectively this year we’ve already added to the defense a quality veteran CB, two #1’s and a #2. DeCoud is young and talented, too. Now, it’s a matter of developing the kids and adding incremental pieces each year. Outstanding.
cwltank
April 23rd, 2010
1:52 pm
Great pick he is an upgrade, 1st rounders start. He would have been available about 3 or 4 picks later.
We need a good TE, maybe we can trade a RB and package it for a 2nd rd pick. I sure hope so.
kctigerfan
April 23rd, 2010
4:36 pm
Congrats Atlanta! As a born and bred Mizzou fan, I can tell you, without reservation, you hit the jackpot with Spoon. Great kid, good student, never takes a play off, and dude can fly and knock your hat off. Most of all, he has unmatched enthusiasm for the game. With Willy MO and Spoon in your back-seven, I’m the newest Falcon fan!
binger
April 23rd, 2010
8:52 pm
j.shipley…. excellent idea….reminds me of ( dare to say ) …Steve largent!
Q&A: Falcons’ Dimitroff holds post-draft briefing | Atlanta Falcons
April 24th, 2010
7:53 pm
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