Are the Atlanta Falcons biased against Georgia players? The Falcons’ general manager, Thomas Dimitroff, candidly answers that question in an interview during Georgia’s Pro Day this past Wednesday.
Whether based in reality or not, the perception of many Bulldog fans on the NFL organization just an hour down the road from Athens is that the Atlanta Falcons are biased when it comes to drafting or signing University of Georgia football players. Thomas Dimitroff stated that is simply not the case:
“I just heard that from D. Orlando Ledbetter from the AJC. He called me out on that. Not at all. We love coming here. We have a great relationship with the University of Georgia, and it just seems like at certain times just hasn’t fallen in our laps; so, we will always be here. We will always make sure we focus. Again, we have great interactional relationships with them (Georgia), and hopefully, one day soon, we can pull off one that is going to be a difference maker for us.”
And the numbers would seem to back up his comment.
In the last 8 years, Atlanta has taken fifteen players from the Southeastern Conference since the 2008 draft when Thomas Dimitroff took the Falcons’ GM job. Of those 15 SEC players, two have been from UGA. The Falcons drafted Georgia running back Thomas Brown in the 6th round at 172 in the 2008 NFL Draft, which was Dimitroff’s first draft with Atlanta, and the Dirty Birds most recently drafted Georgia linebacker Akeem Dent in the 3rd round of the 2011 draft at 91.
Before Thomas Dimitroff, between 2000 – 2007 under General Manager and President Rich McKay (04-07) and Head Coach Dan Reeves, who also served as a de facto GM from 1997 – 2003 with assistance from Harold Richardson from 1998-2001, the Atlanta Falcons also drafted a total of fifteen players from the Southeastern Conference. Of those, Atlanta drafted two players from UGA. In the 2006 Draft, the Falcons drafted Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley in round 7 at 223, and in the 2007 Draft, they drafted Georgia tight end Martrez Milner in round 4 at 133.
In the last 10 years, since 2006, the Falcons have actually drafted more players from the University of Georgia (4) and the Southeastern Conference (21) than in the previous 10 year span between 1996 and 2005 when the Birds drafted only 13 players from the Southeastern Conference and zero, zippo, zilch, nada from UGA. In fact, the last Georgia Bulldog that the Falcons drafted prior to Shockley in the 2006 draft was in 1994 when Atlanta took linebacker Mitch Davis in the 4th round at 118. Davis played for the Dawgs from 1990-1993 under head coach Ray Goff and is the fifth all time career sack leader at Georgia with 27.5.
If the Falcons are biased against SEC and Georgia players, the numbers certainly do not bear that out. The reality is that over the last 10 years, Atlanta has drafted more Georgia Bulldogs (4) than they did in the previous 25 drafts between 1980 and 2005, when the organization only took 3 players came from UGA. It seems Thomas Dimitroff has gotten a bad rap for perhaps not taking more players from the SEC and Georgia, but I am not sure that label is deserved. It is very possible that Atlanta and Dimitroff could take a Bulldog in the up coming 2016 NFL Draft as they have a need at linebacker as well as finding more help on defense at rushing the passer. Could linebackers Leonard Floyd or Jordan Jenkins feel that need? I don’t know, but as a life long fan of both the Dawgs and the Falcons, I cannot deny that I would be excited to see Floyd or Jenkins in an Atlanta uniform this coming season.
And I could think of no one better than wide receiver to represent the Falcons’ organization and the NFL than DGD, Malcolm Mitchell. If Dimitroff were to take any of those three Georgia players, it would go towards diminishing that perception among fans that he and the Atlanta Falcons are biased at drafting Bulldogs.