With NFL teams set to participate in the upcoming NFL Draft from the confines of their respective homes, lead decision makers have had to prepare to handle every possibility from isolation.
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Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff has frequently been active on draft night, so he'll want to be perfectly comfortable as he's conducting business. With the help of the organization's IT staff, Dimitroff has turned a section of his house into his very own draft war room.
Dimitroff pulled back the curtain during an interview with NBC Sports' Peter King for The Peter King Podcast, providing him with a virtual tour of his setup at home.
"They have done a great job, I'm really proud of where they are right now," Dimitroff said of the setup job by Atlanta's IT staff. "We made it as clean lines as possible, that's what I appreciate design-wise anyway. I don't like a whole bunch of clutter on top of that, but they've made it very clean."
To watch the rest of King's interview with Dimitroff, which covers a number of areas in his house, click here.
Here are some other articles for Falcons fans to check out today:
ESPN: Falcons have inside info on Javon Kinlaw
Life in football is all about building relationships, and the relationship between Falcons coach Dan Quinn and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp could prove beneficial come draft night. South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw is one of the top prospects in the draft and someone Atlanta could seek to add in the interior of its defensive line. Given the relationship between Quinn and Muschamp, which dates back to their time at the University of Florida, the Falcons won't lack for information on Kinlaw.
"Dan and I talk all the time, so we're always talking about players and scheme," Muschamp told ESPN. "I think J.K. would be outstanding with the Falcons, especially with Dan and [defensive tackles coach] Jess Simpson. He's a big, explosive player. I think his best ball is ahead of him."
To read the rest of Vaughn McClure's story for ESPN, click here.
ESPN: Sanders 'joking' with Gurley about No. 21
During a recent interview with 92.9 The Game, running back Todd Gurley was asked whether or not he had reached out to Hall of Famer Deion Sanders about wearing the No. 21 jersey in Atlanta. Gurley told the station that Sanders told him "don't wear it."
Over the weekend, Sanders clarified that the conversation was meant in jest and that he was proud to see Gurley wear his former number.
To read the rest of the story on ESPN.com, click here.
The Ringer: NFL Game Pass top 15 performances
For those fans who are missing live sports, the NFL has made Game Pass available for free through the end of May. This availability to every game from the 2011 season onward provides fans with the chance to go back and revisit some of the best contests, moments and performances of much of the past decade.
To help those who would be inclined to embark on such a quest, The Ringer's Robert Mays has compiled a list of the 15 best player performances to watch on Game Pass. Unsurprisingly, Julio Jones' record-breaking 300-yard outing against the Carolina Panthers in 2016 made Mays's list.
"Jones's historic 300-yard outing against Carolina runs parallel to Megatron's explosion against Dallas in many ways," Mays writes. "Jones took a short crossing route 75 yards for a touchdown, showing off the same easy speed that Johnson displayed on his 87-yard run. The Panthers' overcorrection for Jones's speed allowed him to eat up Carolina's secondary on his patented deep comeback route. The moment a cornerback gave him an opening down the field, Jones streaked down the sideline, turned on the afterburners, and tracked down a 43-yard pass that Matt Ryan seemed to heave as far as he could. Just another all-time great player at the peak of his powers."
To check out the rest of Mays's recommendations, click here.
FOX 5: Grady Jarrett giving back
A number of members of the Atlanta Falcons organization have made donations to help those in need of relief during the coronavirus outbreak, including Jamon Brown, Matt Ryan – who donated $100,000 split between two charities – and owner Arthur Blank, who pledged over $5 million dollars.
Now, Grady Jarrett belongs on that list. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle, who has been very involved in community work during his career in Atlanta, is providing meals for police and firefighters around the city and in his hometown of Rockdale County, according to FOX 5 reporter Cody Chaffins.
Per Chaffins, Jarrett sent out the first supply of meals to first responders over the weekend and plans to do so twice a week for the remainder of April.
"It's very very admirable for them to go out there and do what they've got to do." Jarrett told Chaffins. "… It's technically not my job but I feel like it's part of my duty being a big face in the city and being from Rockdale County, I'm going to always try and serve where I can, especially in times of need."
To read more about Jarrett's aid for Atlanta's first responders, click here.
CBS Sports: Grading 2020 top NFL offenses
More often than not, the Falcons have boasted one of the NFL's most productive offenses since Matt Ryan arrived in Atlanta in 2008. With Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley at receiver, the Falcons have enough firepower to stress opposing secondaries, and they've added a couple of new weapons this offseason.
Hayden Hurst now steps in to fill Austin Hooper's shoes in a tight-end-friendly offensive scheme run by Dirk Koetter, and Todd Gurley is reportedly headed to Atlanta to take the top spot at running back after the Falcons parted ways with Devonta Freeman. Those additions should again keep the Falcons among the top offenses in the league.
CBS Sports' Jared Dubin put together a system to rank the offenses in the NFL, and he has the Falcons tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 10.
"Hooper is gone now after having signed a sizable deal with the Browns," Dubin writes. "The Falcons replaced him with Hayden Hurst, who was acquired in a pretty massive overpay but should nevertheless be a solid addition to the offense. Also helping matters is the jettisoning of Devonta Freeman, one of the NFL's least effective runners over the past two years, in favor of Todd Gurley. The former Rams running back was not nearly worth his contract last year and is a walking injury risk but he at least provides an upside that there was no way Freeman was going to hit. The Falcons should add another back in the draft as a complement to Gurley, and with the Ryan-Jones-Ridley trio still in place, they're in good shape at the skill positions."
There's plenty of firepower on Atlanta's offense, and the offensive line could be better with Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary entering their second seasons. If all things come together, the Falcons could prove worthy of a higher spot on this list.
To read all of Dubin's piece on NFL offenses, click here.
