2013 NFL Mock Draft: Atlanta Falcons Select...

This pick could have gone in a lot of different directions. With the releases of OT Tyson Clabo, DE John Abraham and RB Michael Turner, and the uncertainty surrounding the return of TE Tony Gonzalez, there were a lot of holes to fill on a team that is built to win now.

Those questions marks were addressed in pretty rapid fire -- the return of Gonzalez, the signing of former St. Louis workhorse Steven Jackson at RB, and the signing of Osi Umenyiora at DE (although the latter may be a situational player only).

One train of thought for the Atlanta Falcons would be to target the best value (say, if a Tyler Eifert had been sitting here), especially if Gonzalez had not returned. This franchise is desperate to win it all now to legitimize their investment in Matty Ice, and also the significant trade up for Julio Jones in 2011.

With the 30th pick, the Atlanta Falcons select Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington.

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

This pick basically boiled down to a pass rushing DE or a CB, and Desmond Trufant represents tremendous value here at #30 AND fills a tremendous need.

With Brent Grimes gone to Miami and Dunta Robinson released and signed in Kansas City, the Falcons are down to just Asante Samuel and a bunch of guys at CB.

Trufant's pro day stats are impressive, and most importantly, align with what you see on tape:

Combine stats (Top Performer *):

• 40-yard dash: (4.38 sec) *
• 225-lb Bench Press: (16 reps)
• Vertical Jump: (37.5 inches)
• Broad Jump: (125.0 inches)
• 20-yard shuttle: (3.85 sec) *

Trufant is likely a plug and play starter from day one, a probably a key piece to watch if the Falcons are eventually able to make it to the Super Bowl next year.

	Team	Player	Pos	School	BTSC rep
1		Star Lotulelei	DT	Utah	[Link to pick]
2		Dion Jordan	DE/OLB	Oregon	[Link to pick]
3		Sharrif Floyd	DT	Florida	[Link to pick]
4		Dee Milliner	CB	Alabama	[Link to pick]
5		Eric Fisher	OT	Central Michigan	[Link to pick]
6		Luke Joeckel	OT	Texas A&M	[Link to pick]
7		Lane Johnson	OT	Oklahoma	[Link to pick]
8		Barkevious Mingo	OLB	LSU	[Link to pick]
9		Chance Warmack	OG	Alabama	[Link to pick]
10		Jonathan Cooper	OG	North Carolina	[Link to pick]
11		Tavon Austin	WR	West Virginia	[Link to pick]
12		Xavier Rhodes	CB	Florida State	[Link to pick]
13		Ezekiel Ansah	DE	BYU	[Link to pick]
14		Cordarrelle Patterson	WR	Tennessee	[Link to pick]
15		Jarvis Jones	OLB	Georgia	[Link to pick]
16		Kenny Vaccaro	S	Texas	[Link to pick]
17		Tyler Eifert	TE	Notre Dame	[Link to pick]
18		Sheldon Richardson	DT	Missouri	[Link to pick]
19		Bjoern Werner	DE	Florida State	[Link to pick]
20		D.J. Fluker	OT	Alabama	[Link to pick]
21		Alec Ogletree	LB	Georgia	[Link to pick]
22	via	Eddie Lacy	RB	Alabama	[Link to pick]
23		Sylvester Williams	DT	North Carolina	[Link to pick]
24		Datone Jones	DE	UCLA	[Link to pick]
25	via	Geno Smith	QB	West Virginia	[Link to pick]
26		Johnathan Hankins	DT	Ohio State	[Link to pick]
27		Arthur Brown	LB	Kansas State	[Link to pick]
28		Matt Elam	S	Florida	[Link to pick]
29		Keenan Allen	WR	California	[Link to pick]
30		Desmond Trufant	CB	Washington	MDR21
31					afbassi
32					Mr MaLoR