If you came looking for a whole lot of change in this week's version of our Mock Monitor, I apologize. There isn't a whole lot of it. A couple of opinions have changed, sure. But the ground-breaking shift we saw in recent weeks has ceased as draft prognosticators settle in on their picks.
This is actually a good thing. It tells us that a large selection of people have honed in on particular areas and particular players, which can actually give us a better idea of where the Falcons may go with the No. 27 overall pick later this month.
Defensive end is still the popular choice, with nine of our 18 mock drafts going with the position. Offensive line is behind that, and then there are a couple mock drafters who think the Falcons are picking a cornerback.
That's a lot better than what we saw just a little while ago with positions, players and picks all over the place. So, for the sake of argument, we can all settle on one of those three positions.
The personnel, however, does keep changing a bit. We saw at the beginning of the Mock Monitor in February that Ohio defensive end Cameron Heyward was on a couple of boards for the Falcons. He disappeared for a few weeks, but he's back with the AJC's D. Orlando Ledbetter projecting him at No. 27, as well as Sports Illustrated's Don Banks.
We find another new defensive end added to the mix in Arizona's Brooks Reed, offered by WalterFootball.com, but Reed seems to project more as an outside linebacker and a second-round selection.
We'll have to see if more mocks in the coming weeks find Reed to be a suitable pick for Atlanta, or if he'll go the way of March picks Aldon Smith and Jabaal Sheard.
Picks are still coming in for Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi (pictured above), who may just be the surest bet if the Falcons are looking to go offensive tackle in the first round. KFFL.com has projected Mississippi State offensive tackle Derek Sherrod for the Falcons, but after two months of seeing the same projection from them, I'm starting to think KFFL.com has it in the bag for Sherrod.
What's your take as we inch closer to the draft? Do you agree with our sampling of experts?
