ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons' so-called War Room for the NFL draft had no action on Friday night, the direct result of the team forsaking their Round 2 and 3 picks to move up in the first round (landing offensive tackle Kaleb McGary).
However, that radio silence would not be the case for Day 3 of the draft, with the Falcons possessing seven picks for Round 4-7 when the day started.
Here's a capsule review of the Falcons' picks for Saturday:
ROUND 4 (#111 OVERALL) – CB KENDALL SHEFFIELD, OHIO STATE
The Falcons moved up early in the fourth round to secure Sheffield, an explosive athlete with great closing speed. In fact, here's the writeup from NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein:
Sheffield has the twitch for ball production underneath and the long speed to handle vertical workers, but his inconsistency to find and play the football once it comes out of the quarterback's hands is problematic.
Relative to his fluctuating career, his ceiling is fairly high thanks to his speed and explosiveness, but he needs to prove he’s more than just a fast guy.
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ROUND 4 (#135 OVERALL) – DE JOHN COMINSKY, UNIVERSITY OF CHARLESTON
Even if Cominsky doesn't make it with the NFL long term, he still has bragging rights over one thing:
Someday, Cominsky can tell his grandchildren that he was drafted ahead of Michael Jordan.
Not Michael Jordan, the NBA's greatest player of the modern era. It's actually Michael Jordan, the offensive guard at Ohio State.
But Cominsky doesn't have to share all the details of Saturday's draft-day acquisition.
Cominsky has good measurables (6-foot-5, 286 pounds, 33 1/2-inch arms) for a late fourth-rounder, but his raw athleticism might be the greatest selling point.
Despite his immense size, Cominsky fared well in every major category at the NFL Scouting Combine, posting solid numbers in the 40-yard dash (4.69 seconds), bench press (22 reps), vertical jump (33.5 inches), broad jump (116 inches), three-cone drill (7.03 seconds) and 20-yard shuttle (4.38 seconds).
Bottom line: The Falcons can never haven enough depth along the defensive line; and on paper, Cominsky projects to be a useful rotational asset.
ROUND 5 (#149 OVERALL) – RB QADRE OLLISON, PITTSBURGH
Ollison is the rare four-year running back who enjoyed a monster freshman season (1,198 total yards, 12 TDs) ... and then didn't do much until his senior campaign (1,279 total yards, 11 TDs).
My only bone of contention here: Ollison didn't display much receiving prowess in his college years; and pass-catching skills should be a must for whichever back wins out as Atlanta's No. 3 rusher – behind Devonta Freeman and Ito Smith.
ROUND 5 (#169 OVERALL) – CB JORDAN MILLER, WASHINGTON
Miller brings speed and athleticism to the Falcons secondary, traits that never go out of style.
Here's the rundown from NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein:
Miller looked like an all-conference performer for the first seven games of the 2017 season, starting each contest, posting 23 tackles and intercepting two passes. However, he injured his left leg at Arizona State, ending his season prematurely.
Miller returned to start 12 contests in 2018, posting 26 tackles, two for loss, two interceptions, six pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. The All-San Diego Section pick and track star from Oceanside played as a reserve in all 13 games for the Huskies as a true freshman (five tackles, one interception) and all 14 games as sophomore (seven tackles, one INT).
