One of the most difficult things about mock drafts is that there are inevitably trades that completely throw things out of whack. Here’s my meager attempt to project what the first round might look like with some of the projected movement that could occur tonight.

1. Chiefs – OT Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M
I see Joeckel as the Chiefs pick simply because Andy Reid and John Dorsey were in Green Bay at the same time that Mike Sherman, who recruited Joeckel to A&M, was there.
2. Jaguars – OT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan
The Jags have a lot of holes, but they need to also bolster their offensive line, which is among the league’s weakest if they intend to try and salvage the skittish Blaine Gabbert as their starting quarterback.
3. Lions (from Raiders) (trade*) – OT Lane Johnson, Oklahoma
The Lions don’t see Johnson lasting to five, and they want to make sure they get their bookend tackle. So they send the Raiders their 3rd round pick (65th overall) to jump up two spots. And since the Raiders currently lack a third round pick, they are happy to oblige.
4. Browns (from Eagles) (trade*) – DE Dion Jordan, Oregon
The Browns want to get Jordan to bookend with Kruger and will probably try and find a trade partner for Sheard later on to try and get back into the second round. They swap with the Eagles, giving up their 4th round pick (105th) to move up two spots.
5. Raiders (from Lions) (trade*) – DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida
The Raiders know they can move down pretty much anywhere within the Top 10 and still probably wind up with Floyd, who adds a good player on a defensive line that sorely needs it.
6. Eagles (from Browns) (trade*) – CB Dee Milliner, Alabama
The Eagles don’t have a pressing need that they must address, and thus will settle for Milliner to bolster a revamped secondary.
7. Cardinals – OG Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina
The Cards choose Cooper over Warmack just because he offers a bit more potential as a pass protector, and Arians is a guy that has always leaned heavily on throwing the ball.
8. Steelers (from Bills) (trade*) – WR Tavon Austin, West Virginia
The Steelers make the night’s first really bold move by jumping up 9 spots to get Austin, a kid from their own backyard. Austin adds the explosive element to their offense that they lost with Mike Wallace, and also should be a much more reliable return option than Chris Rainey. The Steelers deal their second round pick (48th overall) to jump up here.
9. Jets – OLB Jarvis Jones, Georgia
Medical issues aside, the Jets go with Jones over Mingo and Ansah based purely off production.
10. Titans – OG Chance Warmack, Alabama
With the Cards taking Cooper, the Titans are happy to settle for Warmack. He’s a better fit anyway since the Titans want to be able to clear lanes for Chris Johnson.
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The day has arrived, as tonight commences the 2013 NFL Draft! This is the final update for all the mock drafts I’ve collected and collated this off-season to see what the so-called experts project the Atlanta Falcons to do in this year’s draft. In total, 217 mocks were munched, over half of which came in the month of April (120). For most of the off-season, most were projecting the Falcons to focus on the tight end position. Desmond Trufant made a late run to surpass Tyler Eifert as the top pick projected to the Falcons. Mainly because Trufant was the projection for over a dozen sites’ final mock drafts.  As we got further along in the off-season, cornerback and defensive end became the predominant projection for the Falcons. With this final update, there includes a number of mocks that project the Falcons to trade up in the draft as those rumors have picked up steam over the past week or so. After Eifert and Trufant, Jamar Taylor and Zach Ertz were the most popular projections. Here are the final tallies for the off-season. Scroll down to the bottom to see the tallies for the month of April.

Total Mocks (217 total, 177 unique):
1. Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington (37 total, 28 unique)
2. Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame (35 total, 26 unique)
3. Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State (22 total, 18 unique)
4. Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford (20 total, 16 unique)
5. Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State (12 total, 9 unique)
6. Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M (10 total, 6 unique)
7. D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston (8 total, 7 unique)
7. Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State (8 total, 7 unique)
9. Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State (7 total, 7 unique)
10. Alex Okafor, DE, Texas (7 total, 5 unique)

4.25 - ESPN Insider (Mel Kiper): Robert Alford, CB, SE Louisiana
4.25 - ESPN Insider (Todd McShay): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.25 - Walter Football: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.25 - Walter Football (Charlie Campbell): D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston
4.25 - Football’s Future: Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
4.25 - Draft Countdown: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.25 - Draft Tek: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.25 - Ourlads: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.25 – Rotoworld (Josh Norris): Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri
4.25 – Rotoworld (Evan Silva): Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama
4.25 – CBS Sports (Rob Rang): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.25 - CBS Sports (Dane Brugler): Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
4.25 - CBS Sports (Pete Prisco): Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
4.25 – National Football Post: Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
4.24 – SI.com (Peter King): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 – NFL.com (Mike Mayock): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 - NFL.com (Bucky Brooks): Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State
4.24 – Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 – CBS Sports (Clark Judge): Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
4.24 – CBS Sports (Pat Kirwan): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 – CBS Sports (Jason La Canfora): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 – Pro Football Talk: Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State
4.24 – FOX Sports: Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame
4.24 – USA Today (Nate Davis): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 – Great Blue North Report: Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
4.24 - Draft Daddy: D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston
4.24 - NFL Draft Blitz: Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M
4.24 - Draft King: Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame
4.24 – Draft Breakdown (Spencer & Engle): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 – Draft Breakdown (Andrew Parsons): Barkevious Mingo, DE, LSU
4.24 – The Football Expert: Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State
4.24 – NFL Draft Geek: D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston
4.24 – NFL’s Future: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 - Draft Season (Onebar): Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
4.24 - FF Toolbox (Ben Standig): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.24 - FF Toolbox (Matt De Lima): Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
4.24 - FF Toolbox (Ricky Dimon): Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
4.24 – FF Toolbox (Forrest N. Long): D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston
4.24 - FF Toolbox (Rob Warner): Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame
4.23 – NFL.com (Gil Brandt): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.23 - Draft Season (Lomas): Datone Jones, DE, UCLA
4.22 – CBS Sports (Will Brinson): Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama
4.22 – Ourlads (Chris Steuber): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
4.22 – Draft Season (Lupagus): Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame

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The Falcons announced that wide receiver Kerry Meier was waived today. Meier spent this past season on injured reserve with an undisclosed leg injury. It was the second time Meier spent time on the injured reserve, after suffering a torn ACL in his first training camp in 2010. Meier was a fifth round pick by the Falcons that same year out of Kansas.

Meier began his college career as a quarterback before moving to wide receiver. He finished his career at Kansas as a highly productive wideout in their spread attack, breaking their single season record for receptions with 102 as a senior. Meier’s only action with the Falcons came in 12 games in 2011 where he played predominantly on special teams, without recording a tackle.

Last week, I promised that I would go over the Falcons Day 3 draft plans. But of course news and rumors picked up steam that the Falcons were planning on moving up via trade in the draft. I do think the two issues are somewhat related, which I will delve into later. But for now, let’s talk about the Falcons potential third day draft possibilities.

The meat of the Falcons draft lies on the third day of the draft, where rounds four through seven will be selected. The Falcons hold eight of their eleven total picks during this stretch of the draft. The third day of the draft is typically where teams try to build their depth. A few players will emerge as starters, but they are few and far between.

Using previously discussed draft grades, only 14 of the 153 players selected in the final four rounds in 2008 earned C grades or higher (i.e. became solid starters after five seasons). That number is 22 out of 156 players from the 2007 class. In 2008, five of those 14 starters were fourth rounders, while that number was 12 in 2007.

Because the Falcons draft for need, they are going to lean towards targeting players that have a high probability of making the roster. Basically operating under a simple principle that there’s no way you can help the team if you don’t make it. So to determine what areas and positions the Falcons might target on the third day of the draft, you have to take a closer look at the team’s current roster. Here’s a quick breakdown position by position, with the number in parentheses indicating the current number of players at the position that have a strong probability of making the final roster:
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Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweeted earlier that the Falcons were among 11 teams represented at the private workout of Florida State defensive end Tank Carradine today. Reedy reports that Carradine ran a 4.75-second 40 time. Carradine suffered a torn ACL in November after a breakout senior campaign where he recorded 11 sacks, 80 tackles, and 13 tackles for loss.

Carradine met with the Falcons for a private workout on April 2 according to reports. Carradine, who’s first name is actually Cornellius, transferred to Florida State after two seasons at Butler Community College. His career at Butler came on the heels of current Falcon defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi, who spent two years at the Kansas-based community college (2007-08) before transferring to Troy in 2009. In his first season at Butler in 2009, Carradine recorded 90 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. He would earn All-American honors as a sophomore with 119 tackles, 29 for loss, 16 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 5 recoveries. His sack total led the nation among junior college players. He transferred to Florida State the following season where he served as a backup to Bjoern Werner and Brandon Jenkins. He had 38 tackles, 8 for loss, and 5.5 sacks. When Jenkins went down with a foot injury before the start of this most recent season, Carradine stepped into his spot at right defensive end. Carradine went down with his injury in the team’s final regular season game against the Florida Gators on November 24.

Recent reports suggest that Carradine is ahead of schedule on his rehab and is widely considered to be one of this draft’s premier pass rushers if not for the untimely event of his injury could have been a Top 15 pick. Carradine measured at 6-4, 273 pounds at today’s workout.

Atlanta’s FOX 5 News reports that Falcons safety William Moore was arrested Thursday in Fulton County on simple battery charges. Details of his arrest have yet to be disclosed. The Falcons issued a brief statement indicated their awareness of the situation and no further comment due to the legal nature of the matter.

Moore signed a brand new five-year deal worth nearly $30 million with the Falcons as a free agent in March. Moore is coming off his first Pro Bowl season, serving as an injury replacement for the NFC squad. Moore is coming off a season where he had a career-high 75 tackles, along with 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and a sack.

The league announced the 2013 regular season schedule tonight. The Falcons will open their season on the road against division rival New Orleans Saints on September 8, the first Sunday in the season. The following week the Falcons will get their home opener against the St. Louis Rams on September 15. The schedule features five primetime matchups (tied for most in the league), beginning with a home game in Week 4 against the New England Patriots on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. They will then follow that up with a Monday Night Football matchup on ESPN the ensuing week with another home game against the New York Jets on October 7. The Falcons bye week will be the following week.

After the Saints, the Falcons next NFC South divisional opponent follows their bye week with a home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After that the Falcons begin an eight game series that will have the team at home for only three games. The Falcons next primetime game will come in Week 12 on October 21 at home on their Thursday Night game on NFL Network. The Falcons will go on the road to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers in Week 14 on December 8 on Sunday Night Football once more. The final primetime game will be against the team that ended the Falcons 2012 season in the NFC Championship. That game against the San Francisco 49ers will come in Week 16, December 23 on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. The Falcons will close out the regular season with a home game against the Carolina Panthers on December 29.

Five of the Falcons six divisional games will follow their Week 6 bye week. Four of the team’s first six games will be played at home in the Georgia Dome. The Falcons schedule also features two significant breaks. The first of which follows their Monday Night game against the Jets, due to the bye week, the Falcons next game won’t come until 13 days later. Following their Week 12 Thursday Nighter against the Saints, they will have the typical nine-day layoff until they go on the road against the Buffalo Bills. That game will be played in the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada.

Click here to see the rest of the Falcons 2013 schedule.

2013 Atlanta Falcons Schedule

Preseason
Week	Date	Opponent	Time	Result	Score	Stats
1	Aug. 8	Cincinnati	8:00
2	Aug. 15	at Baltimore	7:30
3	Aug. 24	at Tennessee	8:00
4	Aug. 29	Jacksonville	7:30
Regular Season
Week	Date	Opponent	Time	Result	Score	Stats
1	Sep. 8	at New Orleans	1:00
2	Sep. 15	St. Louis	1:00
3	Sep. 22	at Miami	4:05
4	Sep. 29	New England	8:30
5	Oct. 7	N.Y. Jets	8:40
6	Oct. 13	bye
7	Oct. 20	Tampa Bay	1:00
8	Oct. 27	at Arizona	4:25
9	Nov. 3	at Carolina	1:00
10	Nov. 10	Seattle	1:00
11	Nov. 17	at Tampa Bay	1:00
12	Nov. 21	New Orleans	8:20
13	Dec. 1	at Buffalo	4:05
14	Dec. 8	at Green Bay	8:30
15	Dec. 15	Washington	1:00
16	Dec. 23	at San Francisco	8:40
17	Dec. 29	Carolina	1:00

Stats are provided by NFL.com‘s Gamebooks, which are in PDF format. You can find a PDF reader here.

Click here to see the results of the Falcons 2012 Season.

The Falcons are picking thirtieth in the 2013 draft, and rumors continue to gain momentum that the team is looking to move up and get an earlier pick. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC recently discussed the possibility of the Falcons moving up in the first round based off a year-old study of Falcons drafts under GM Thomas Dimitroff. Yesterday, SI.com’s Peter King and then today, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, cite sources that suggest the Falcons desires to trade up are real.

The Falcons last went through a blockbuster trade-up in the first round in 2011, where they moved up 21 spots to select wide receiver Julio Jones. The team sent their first round pick (27th overall), second and fourth round picks in the 2011 draft along with first and fourth round picks in the 2012 draft to Cleveland in exchange for the sixth overall selection. In 2012, the Falcons did not trade up in the draft, however they did move back seven spots in the third round via a trade with Baltimore.

La Canfora reports that the Falcons are eyeing either Oregon defensive end Dion Jordan or Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner, according to his sources. Both have been projected to be potential Top 5 picks in the majority of mock drafts.

Today during an hour-long press conference, Dimitroff indicated that the team was open to maneuvering in the draft, whether that mean moving up or down.

It’s now less than two weeks until the 2013 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night, April 25. In past years I would have for the top prospects in the draft. I have not done that this year. My job had me traveling a lot in the fall, so I didn’t watch as much college football as normal. Once the winter hit, and now that we’ve rolled into spring, I have a lesser workload but not by a huge margin. And since I typically do a poor job managing my time anyway, I did not get to make up for lost time as much as I would have liked.

So this year, there aren’t going to be many scouting reports on draft prospects. At least not before the draft. After the draft, I intend fully to dive into breaking down the players that the Falcons draft. Although again, because my workload is likely to be hectic that might take a month or so especially if the Falcons wind up making eleven picks.

But I do hope that in the next ten days that I will put a few scouting reports online of some of the players that the Falcons are potentially targeting in the early rounds of the draft. I really want to look at some cornerbacks as well as some pass rushers because I feel that these are the most likely players the Falcons will come away with in Round One.

We have five years of drafts under Thomas Dimitroff to gauge in order to try and guess who the Falcons are taking with their top pick this year. Frankly, that’s all it really is: educated guessing, because none of the many bloggers around the interweb that cover the Falcons really know what is going to happen.

To be honest, I’m not very good with guessing who the Falcons will take with their top pick. In 2008, I was split on Glenn Dorsey and Matt Ryan. That was understandable to a degree because it was Dimitroff and Mike Smith’s first draft, and their tendencies were unknown. In hindsight, it’s obvious why they ultimately chose Ryan but at the time it seemed like a toss-up. Mike Smith was a defensive coach, and Dorsey was widely hailed as the best interior pass rusher since Warren Sapp. And many weren’t high on Ryan. I can proudly thump my chest, and say I wasn’t one of them. I wrote this about Ryan in that 2008 draft guide:
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