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Another top junior CB to take pro plunge... In a case of the rich keeps getting richer, the increasingly strong CB position for the 2005 draft got a little stronger with Tennessee junior CB Jason Allen having reportedly decided to enter this year's draft. Allen joins fellow junior CBs Adam Jones of West Virginia, Justin Miller of Clemson and Fabian Washington of Nebraska, as well as star Oregon State sophomore Brandon Browner who have already entered the 2005 draft making the CB position one of the real strengths at this year's draft.


I got the above at the Great Blue North Draft report and this is an interesting question.What if the depth at corner in this draft is stronger than at other positions? What if the falcon's could get a 1st round talent in the second round or second round talent in the 3rd do you take a cornerback despite the needs the falcon's have?My head is spinning with all the possibilities guess I just need things to play out and see what happens.

Due to the salary cap I'm not so sure you can use the "best player available" approach anymore. Imo we definately need another corner and I'm hoping we address this as our top prioriety in free agency. I would love for us to be in a position to take a corner early....but we aren't imo.

If you remember last year the falcon's paid a ton to sign Webster and there is a premium on the corners in free agency.The only way to get a good one at a low price is in the draft.At this moment it might be best to see what positions the falcon's plan to address in free agency,I am predicting mostly offensive line, and then use the draft choices to draft the best available player to fill a need.You can't draft a player that is best available that doesn't fill a need anymore.Perhaps the 4th round there could be a corner that drops like the kid in miami that got a steal with the player.(sorry can't think of his name)

Yes, we spent a ton on Webster, who IMO is just an average/above average corner. I think if you look at this year's FA class, there are at least 5 corners that are better than Webster, and would be much more worth the $7 million in bonus money we tossed Web's way. But oh well.

Cornerback is a very expensive position when it comes to free agency. And if we did sign a player, it would mean that we would have 3 highly paid corners on the roster.

I'm a huge fan of the best player available method. I think it's the best way you have success in the draft and on your football team down the road. Focusing on need too much causes reaches. And reaches = bad selections, and in the long run hurt your team. Besides a select few positions (QB for one), we could use help at pretty much every position across the board.

But getting back to the question, I think if there is a quality corner there when we pick in Round 1, 2, or 3, then go ahead and pull the trigger, despite it being not a high-level need. If it came down to a tie between a CB and say a OL, and our front office considers corner to be a much stronger/deeper position in the draft, then I say go with the OL. But if there's a corner on the board that you have as an A- grade, and the top OL on your board is only a B+, then I say you follow the board and taken the corner.

After all, front offices do put in about 9 months of work constructing that draft board for that April Saturday. All that work, and then to just supercede the board just because you prefer to go after the need, seems like a lot of wasted man hours and effort went into that board.

Let's just say a situation arose where a cornerback fell in the draft to Atlanta at #27. The Falcons had him rated as the #19 best prospect in the draft. But at the same time there is a DE available that is rated at #26 on the Falcons board. Do you say to yourself, "Seven spots is not that big of a deal. Plus corner is a deeper position, so I can pass on that one guy and still get a decent player next round or later." Or do you say, "There's a reason why we rated this guy at #19, and the other guy at #26, and I'm going to stick to my draft board and pick the best available player." Personally, I'd say the latter. In the later rounds IMO, where the margin between each player is much smaller, you can afford to jump 6, or maybe even 10 spots on your draft board to help fulfill a pressing need. But when its that early in the draft, I stick to your draft board as much as possible.

I agree witht he best available approach after the top five or ten. Those guys should be able to considered "can't miss" and possibly significant first year contributors. I have been blowing Justin Miller's horn for anyone who would listen. I think CB would be a good position to address with webster's injuries and Mathis and Beasley aging and FA. Christian Morten didn't do much to impress in the little bit he played. There are a few good CBs that could fall into our spot. Carlos Rogers is another quality player at this spot. I don't know that a 28th pick OL is going to be that much better than a 56th.