Here’s what it would take for Falcons to get A.J. Green
An NFL rule prevented scouts from watching A.J. Green's workout because the quarterback throwing to him, Justin Roper, lives too far from Athens. Brant Sanderlin, bsanderlin@ajc.com
BIRDLAND — My esteemed and most humble colleague, AJC columnist Jeff Schultz, has forwarded an interesting proposition to the Atlanta Falcons’ front office.
With the offense is need of creating more explosive plays, in his column today, he is directing them to pull out the stops to get Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green.
Director of player personnel Les Snead, director of college scouting David Palmer and assistant area scout Anthony Robinson attended Georgia’s Pro Day for the Falcons. But they had to leave because quarterback Justin Roper, who’s from Buford, was determined to live 6.2 miles outside of the radius of the Athens metroplex.
They had the option of watching the workout on the Internet.
Former Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green with his agents Tom Condon (L) and Ben Dogra (R). (D. Orlando Ledbetter/DLedbetter@ajc.com)
General manager Thomas Dimitroff, the two-time Sporting News executive of the year, has been a busy bee in his three drafts with the Falcons.
In 2008, he traded back into the first round to get offensive tackle Sam Baker with the 21st overall pick after selecting quarterback Matt Ryan third overall. Washington traded its first-, third-, and fifth-round selections (No. 21, 84, and 154) to the Falcons for two of Atlanta’s second-round selections and its fourth-round selection (No. 34, 48, and 103).
The 84th pick turned into wide receiver Harry Douglas. The 154th pick became defensive end Kroy Biermann.
In 2009, the Falcons traded with St. Louis, which gave up its fifth- and sixth-round selections (138th and 176th overall, respectively) to Atlanta in exchange for wide receiver Laurent Robinson and Atlanta’s fifth- and sixth-round selections (160th and 196th overall, respectively).
They 138th pick was used on cornerback William Middleton, who is now with Jacksonville. They selected linebacker Spencer Adkins with the 176th pick.
In 2010, the Falcons acquired St. Louis’ fifth round selection (135th overall) in exchange for selections in the fifth (149th overall) and sixth round (189th overall). The Falcons had also acquired Detroit’s sixth round pick, and a conditional seventh round pick for the 2011 draft in the Chris Houston trade.
They moved up to the 135th pick to select cornerback Dominique Franks. They selected safety Shann Schillinger with the 171st pick.
For the upcoming draft, the Cincinnati Bengals (fourth overall) and the Cleveland Browns (sixth) are considered strong possibilities for Green. Carolina, which has the No. 1 overall pick, is likely going defense or quarterback. Denver (second) and Buffalo (third) are not heavily scouting receivers. Arizona, in need of a quarterback, is picking fifth.
So if Green gets past Cincinnati, the Falcons will be on the phone with Mike Holmgren and the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns, who may want to amass picks, traded out of the No. 5 spot in 2009. Under a different regime, they sent the No. 5 pick to the New York Jets (Mark Sanchez) for the 17the pick, a second rounder and three players that were coveted by their former coach Eric Mangini.
Green wouldn’t come cheaply. The Falcons, since players can’t be traded because of the labor situation, would have to yield their No. 1 and No. 2 this year and likely their No. 2 for next year.
Green played 32 games at Georgia, made 166 catches and 2,619 yards and scored 23 touchdowns.
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock directs those wanting to evaluate Green to look at the tape of Georgia’s game against Colorado.
So under this scenario, would you pull the trigger to land A.J. Green?
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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272 comments Add your comment
cwltank
March 26th, 2011
5:21 pm
Yea our Offensive coordinator was very predictable. We depended on Finnerman & a recovering Douglas last year and it came back to hurt us. Lets get White some help & for the record they overpaid for Jenkins. Who do not think Green is better than Jenkins for probally half the salary owed to Jenkins.
Mustang Sally
March 26th, 2011
7:20 pm
Why would the Falcons even consider a brain-dead thug like Green?
Mark
March 26th, 2011
9:16 pm
No. Go get Malcom Floyd once free agency begins and draft a DE.
KC
March 27th, 2011
1:22 am
Not going to happen!
StatesBurr
March 27th, 2011
3:21 am
Typical Ledbetter Blog: It goes nowhere. How is it possible for a “beat writer” for the local NFL pro team not able to use supposedly “resources” and imagination in providing news… How about some info on the offensive line personnel that were drafted in the past 3 years who are being groomed. Is this their year?
No, you ask about what ifs on a draft pick…… Please.
old man
March 27th, 2011
7:46 am
Just checked the last 20 mocks I could find. Here are the totals:
Justin Houston DE 4
Leonard Hankerson WR 2
Adrian Clayborn DE 2
Mike Pouncey G 2
Torrey Smith WR 2
Aaron Williams CB
Kyle Rudolph TE
Brooks Reed DE
Anthony Castonzo OT
Akeem Ayers OLB
Cameron Heyward DE
Rahim Moore S
Brandon Harris CB
DE 8
WR 4
OL 3
DB 3
LB 1
TE 1
Just FYI.
StatesBurr
March 27th, 2011
9:41 am
NFL awards 23 teams with compensatory picks…. Was the Falcons one of those 23?
It would be nice if the “beat” writer for our NFL teams would report on that…
Jack P
March 27th, 2011
10:53 am
He is not the player he and you homers think he is. A resounding “no” from me. Let’s move on to someone else.
old man
March 27th, 2011
1:00 pm
I’m one of the odd balls saying we need to go RB on offense, primarily to open up the passing attack. Even so, the consensus seems to be that we need to (1) obtain an impact defensive player to pressure the opposition passing game; and (2) make our own passing game more potent, in that order. How we do that really depends on 26 things happening before we pick. And depending on who is available, you might have to flip (1) and (2) to get the highest value.
If we improve our pass rush by 50%, our DBs (who actually were OK last year) will look 100% better. It’s hard to cover people for those extra 2 seconds.
cwltank
March 27th, 2011
1:49 pm
Abraham will start, Bierman or Anderson will start at the other End. 1st rounders start, so I am certain we want pick a D End. Maybe Houston to play LB or AN OL. I prefer a reciever, we need speed. And who ever stated get a proven reciever, Green has proven he can catch. After the injury he returned and posted great numbers. The Falcons has people in place to keep him straight.
Hmmmmmmm
March 27th, 2011
4:30 pm
Would somebody Please tell me WHY would even want AJ Green? If we are stupid enough to draft a unproven wide receiver, why wouldn’t we go after Julio from Alabama! He is TWICE the player….
Tai
March 27th, 2011
7:15 pm
Would somebody Please tell me WHY would even want AJ Green? If we are stupid enough to draft a unproven wide receiver, why wouldn’t we go after Julio from Alabama! He is TWICE the player….
Amen to that.
Jeff
March 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
has Ryan really proven he can get the ball deep with accuracy?? mite be better handing off or short screens to speedy back..in open space
Falcons Likely To Contact Browns About No. 6 Overall Pick? » Falcons Gab
March 27th, 2011
8:03 pm
[...] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that if there’s a team that the Falcons may look to move up with, it’s likely the Browns, a team that could hold the cards to Georgia WR A.J. Green. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, the two-time Sporting News executive of the year, has been a busy bee in his three drafts with the Falcons. For the upcoming draft, the Cincinnati Bengals (fourth overall) and the Cleveland Browns (sixth) are considered strong possibilities for Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green. If Green gets past Cincinnati, the Falcons will be on the phone with Mike Holmgren and the Cleveland Browns. The Browns, who may want to amass picks, traded out of the No. 5 spot in 2009. Under a different regime, they sent the No. 5 pick to the New York Jets (Mark Sanchez) for the 17the pick, a second rounder and three players that were coveted by their former coach Eric Mangini. Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to Falcons Gab via RSS Feed or E-mail and receive daily news updates from us! Tags: A.J. Green [...]
Jeff
March 27th, 2011
8:06 pm
and i mean consistantly…he has made some great throws…but missed alot too. maybe a fast RB would help open it up alittle bit..
WHY?!?!?
March 27th, 2011
9:03 pm
NOT worth it. AT all. We are FINE on offense. We need LOADS on defense!!! If we want a local kid and have to trade the farm for him, WAIT until the CBA is signed and get a PROVEN stud in Detroit. That’d be one Mr Calvin Johnson. Otherwise, get a DE in Cam Heyward and a guy like Randall Cobb in the 2nd. Jersey Selling 1.2 on the Wonderlick ain’t worth it.
old man, get it right
March 27th, 2011
9:09 pm
Justin Houston is a 3-4 OLB, NOT a true End! We DO NOT NEED him. We need a REAL DEFENSIVE END. We already went BUST with a project at DE. Just say NOT to a MUTT 3-4 OLB.
old man
March 28th, 2011
6:54 am
old man, get it right:
They list Houston as a DE, but of course you’re right. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely not for picking Houston, and not for moving up to get Green. If we give that much to move up that far, we need to get an immediate impact DE, not A.J. Green.
Even though misguided, the mocks listing Houston seem to reflect the idea of QB pressure as the key need on defense. Wrong player, right idea.
Jeff:
Agree 100% on the RB idea to open up our passing game. There are 5 or 6 interesting guys projected in 2nd and 3rd rounds.
Bad idea
March 28th, 2011
12:18 pm
If we have to give up 1 and 2 this year PLUS 2 next year, there is no way in hell we should try to get Green. Our receivers were definitely not the problem last year. Defense has to be the focus.
D. Bell
March 28th, 2011
4:52 pm
No. Too expensive, and WRs usually take a couple years to develope anyway.
hbcuclassics
March 28th, 2011
5:39 pm
2011 HBCU Classic Sports Draft Board (1-10)
1. Kenrick Ellis 6-5, 340 DT Hampton – AP/FCS All-American
2. Clifford Eugene 6’1, 198 FS Tenn State- FCS All-American
3. Johnny Culbreath 6’5, 285 OT SC State – AP/FCS All-American,
4. Derrin Nettles 6’4, 320 DT Morehouse – AFCA All-American
5. Ibrihim Abdulai 6’3, 282 DT Arkansas PB – All-SWAC
6. Frank Warren 5’10, 195 RB Grambling – 2010 SWAC POY
7. Larry Donnell 6’6, 260 TE Grambling – All-SWAC
8. Arvell Nelson 6’5, 228 QB Tx Southern – 2010 SWAC Champ
9. Rico Council 6’0, 254 OLB TN State – All-OVC
10. KJ Black 6’3, 230 QB Prairie View 2009 SWAC POY
hbcuclassics.com
kevin
March 29th, 2011
2:09 pm
It’s hard to say. If AJ turns out to be as dominant of an NFL player as he was a college player, then the answer has to be yes. If not, then it’s a lot to give up. It’s a gamble, but my humble opinion as a devout college football fan, this is one of the best WR to ever play the game in college. Might be worth rolling the dice.