Mathis has to be one of the first two or three names you mention in a series like this."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Library FalcFans Podcast on The FalcoholicContact The FalcoholicFalcons StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Falcons NewsYahoo Falcons Team PageYahoo Falcons ReportYahoo Falcons Depth ChartYahoo Falcons TransactionsYahoo Falcons PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub 鉁旴est Falcons free agents ever: Terance Mathis New Youth Austin Hooper Jersey ,3commentsMathis has to be one of the first two or three names you mention in a series like this. ESTShareTweetShareShareBest Falcons free agents ever: Terance Mathis Welcome to another offseason series, this one a warm-up for free agency. Here, we’ll look at the best—and eventually the worst—Falcons free agents ever signed. We kick things off with a Falcoholic favorite, Terance Mathis.Years with Falcons: 1994-2001Stats: 573 receptions, 7,349 yards, 12.8 yards per reception, 57 touchdown receptions Earlier this week, Evan Birchfield looked back fondly on Terance Mathis’ career in Atlanta. Today, I’m going to do the same with a bit of a spin, which is talking about why he was one of the best free agents the Falcons ever signed.With the advantage of hindsight, it seems obvious that the New York Jets had no idea what they had with Terance Mathis.That’s why after four years with the Jets, where he put up 93 receptions for 1,242 yards and four touchdowns, Mathis found himself launching into free agency. The Falcons were looking to add talent at wide receiver with stud Andre Rison in the fold and June Jones in charge of the team, and they would end up signing Mathis to a multi-year deal and adding rookie Bert Emanuel to the corps. Both turned out to be incredibly savvy moves—Emanuel managed 260 receptions, 3600 yards, and 24 touchdowns in just four seasons in Atlanta—but Mathis would end up going down as one of the greatest receivers ever to play for the franchise.I doubt the Falcons had their sights set that high when they got him, but in retrospect Mathis’ skills made him a great fit even after June Jones was long gone. He was speedy, offered refined route running, and had good enough hands to make him a force as a volume receiver. Mathis was the trusted option for a series of Falcons quarterbacks from Jeff George to Chris Chandler, drawing more than 100 targets every single year he was in Atlanta. That began in 1994, when the former Jets sixth-round pick exploded for 111 receptions, 1,342 yards, and 11 touchdowns, arguably the finest year of his entire career. He followed that up with 78/1,039/9 in 1995, 69/771/7 in 1996, 62/802/6 in 1997, and a huge 64/1 Stitched Deion Jones Jersey ,136/11 to help propel the Falcons to the Super Bowl in 1998. His last three years in Atlanta weren’t as spectacular, but he still managed 81/1,016/6 in 1999, 57/679/5 in 2000, and 51/564/2 in 2001, getting the opportunity to play with rookie Michael Vick for a short time. Mathis played one more year with the Steelers, one of the quietest of his career, and then retired. When he retired, he held the Falcons franchise records for targets, receptions, receiving yardage and touchdowns. While he was eventually surpassed by Roddy White and has been or will be surpassed by Julio Jones, he’s still one of the best receivers ever to suit up for the Falcons, and one of the best free agent signings this team has ever managed. How does the NFL Combine change things for the Falcons in the 2019 NFL Draft? We take a closer look with our first post-Combine 7-round mock draft."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Library FalcFans Podcast on The FalcoholicContact The FalcoholicFalcons StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Falcons NewsYahoo Falcons Team PageYahoo Falcons ReportYahoo Falcons Depth ChartYahoo Falcons TransactionsYahoo Falcons PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub 鉁旻alcons NFL Draft 20192019 NFL Combine CoverageFalcons 7-Round Mock Draft: Fifth EditionNew,152commentsHow does the NFL Combine change things for the Falcons in the 2019 NFL Draft? We take a closer look with our first post-Combine 7-round mock draft.ESTShareTweetShareShareFalcons 7-Round Mock Draft: Fifth EditionChuck Cook-USA TODAY SportsThe 2019 NFL Combine has come and gone. We’ve seen some outstanding performances and some very disappointing ones, and also heard some very interesting rumors about where certain teams might be going with their early picks—the Kyler Murray to Arizona noise is particularly silly, in my opinion.How does the Combine change things for the Falcons’ draft plans? The answer is...it doesn’t really. Truthfully, most teams have their boards pretty much set before the Combine even happens. The athletic testing isn’t as important as some think—meanwhile, the interviews and medical testing are probably more important than many fans realize.Still, it tends to move around the stock of players—particularly in the later rounds of the draft. For this mock draft, I used The Draft Network’s new “Mock Draft Machine”. For those that enjoy this sort of thing, I’d highly recommend it. Personally, I feel their predictive board is a lot more accurate than anything on Fanspeak.Let’s jump right in!Round 1, Pick 14: DT Ed Oliver, HoustonEd Oliver may have elevated his stock with an exceptional day at the Combine, but there’s still a non-zero chance of him lasting until pick 14. The Combine doesn’t move the needle for NFL teams as much as it does for fans, and the size/scheme concerns that worried some teams probably haven’t totally dissipated. If Oliver makes it past Buffalo (who might be enamored with an equally impressive tester in WR D.K. Metcalf), he is probably falling to the Falcons. I wrote a full scouting report on Oliver, and here’s how I described his skillset:Round 2, Pick 45: C/G Erik McCoy, Texas A&MOne of my favorite Day 2 OL prospects, Texas A&M’s Erik McCoy elevated his stock in a big way with a tremendous showing at the Combine. He fits the profile of a Falcons’ offensive lineman perfectly Youth Deion Jones Jersey , and one of his closest athletic comps (according to Mockdraftable) is ex-Falcons G Chris Chester. He would be in line to start immediately at either guard spot, and his experience at center could eventually make him the long-term replacement for Alex Mack. Here’s how I described McCoy’s skillset in a previous mock draft:Round 3, Pick 79: EDGE Zach Allen, Boston CollegeWith the Falcons bringing back Vic Beasley for 2019, it’s clear that the team doesn’t view EDGE as their biggest need this offseason. Still, going into the season without adding anyone else to the rotation would be downright foolish, as the depth chart right now consists only of Beasley, Takk, and Steven Means. Enter Boston College’s Zach Allen—an inside-outside hybrid player that can take on a similar role to Adrian Clayborn in Quinn’s defense. I talked about Allen in my EDGE prospect preview, and here’s how I described his talents:Round 4, Pick 117: OT Tytus Howard, Alabama StateThe Falcons allegedly view Ty Sambrailo as a “starter”, according to Dan Quinn, but I think we all know the truth: Sambrailo is a stopgap option at best, and is meant to be a bridge to a young draft pick. If the Falcons elect to wait on OT until late Day 2 or early Day 3, Alabama State’s Tytus Howard could be a perfect fit. I doubt he’ll last this long in the real draft—in this scenario, I’d definitely consider a trade-up into the late third round. I mentioned Howard in my OT prospect preview—here’s a quick write-up on his skillset:Round 4, Pick 137: CB Isaiah Johnson, HoustonIf Houston CB Isaiah Johnson is still around this late, the Falcons need to snatch him up. Johnson’s tape is littered with inconsistencies and he’s far from a finished product, but he put on a show at the Combine and has elite traits for the position. The Falcons can afford to develop Johnson before throwing him into the fire, making this a very high-upside pick on Day 3. Here’s how I described Johnson’s skills in my CB prospect preview:Round 5, Pick 152: RB Myles Gaskin, WashingtonWith my favorite RB for the Falcons—Justice Hill—seeing his stock explode after an impressive Combine performance, the Falcons will have to look elsewhere for a RB at this point in the draft. Washington RB Myles Gaskin is another option who is likely to be around this late, and while he isn’t quite as athletic as Hill, he’s got plenty of upside and proven production. I talked about Gaskin’s talents in my RB prospect preview:Round 5, Pick 172: TE Foster Moreau, LSULSU’s Foster Moreau turned a lot of heads at the Combine with his impressive workouts. I knew he had some juice to him, but he was never utilized much as a receiver and the general consensus among a lot of draft analysts was that he didn’t have much upside in the passing game. Well, even if he needs a lot of work Stitched Keanu Neal Jersey , the athleticism is clearly there for Moreau to be more than just a quality blocker. At this point in the draft, Moreau is a good value for Atlanta to find a cheap, high-upside replacement for veteran Logan Paulsen. Here’s how I described Moreau’s talents in my TE prospect preview:Round 6, Pick 186: WR Cody Thompson, ToledoThis WR class is insanely deep, and with the Falcons missing out on some of my favorite targets in Jakobi Meyers, Terry Godwin, and Mecole Hardman, I had to look a little harder to find a great fit. Luckily, Toledo’s Cody Thompson ended up falling—as some receivers are going to do, due to the sheer volume of quality players in this class. I like Thompson as a future WR3 that can contribute in a lot of ways on the field. At only a sixth round price tag, that’s darn good value. I mentioned Thompson in my WR prospect preview, and here’s how I talked about his skillset:Round 7, Pick 230: S Will Harris, Boston CollegeI was really hoping to pick up LB Terrill Hanks or CB Jimmy Moreland with this final pick, but both went just a few spots ahead of the Falcons. So instead, Atlanta targets depth at another position with the addition of S Will Harris. He’s a reliable, versatile backup that can do a lot for you early in his career. Harris has an excellent shot at making the roster as the fifth safety—particularly if Kazee is being moved to CB full-time. Here’s how I described Harris’ talents in my S prospect preview:AnalysisIn this mock draft, the Falcons address all of their major needs, just not necessarily in the most logical order. Ed Oliver still being available at 14—it’s more possible than many fans want to admit—kind of throws a wrench into things. It’s clear that DT isn’t the biggest need in Atlanta, but Oliver is simply too good of a talent to pass up. In the second round, the Falcons add one of the most athletic offensive linemen in the draft in C/G Erik McCoy to bolster the other side of the trenches.In the third, the Falcons finally address EDGE with an “Adrian Clayborn-like” player in Zach Allen. With their two fourth round picks, Atlanta begins to address depth across the roster with the developmental players OT Tytus Howard and CB Isaiah Johnson. Both fit the prototype the Falcons are looking for, but both need time and coaching before they’re ready for prime time. The two fifth rounders go to addressing free agent departures, with RB Myles Gaskin filling the void left by Tevin Coleman and TE Foster Moreau taking over for Logan Paulsen.Atlanta uses their sixth rounder on what I view to be an absolute steal in WR Cody Thompson, who has legit WR3 upside and can factor into the competition at returner. Finally, the Falcons select S Will Harris to help fill out the depth chart at safety and add another quality special teams contributor.What are your thoughts on this potential draft class for the Falcons? Who are some players you’d love to see wind up in Atlanta? In what order would you address the team’s needs?