FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. _ With the 26th pick in the NFL draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley Thursday night.
He caught 224 passes for 2,781 yards and 19 touchdowns over three seasons. "He can come in day one and be your starting slot," Mayock said. "He's so tough and so quick."
In each of the past three drafts the Falcons have selected defensive players with their top two picks.
In 2015, the Falcons took defensive end Vic Beasley and cornerback Jalen Collins. In 2016, they took safety Keanu Neal and linebacker Deion Jones. Last season, they selected defensive end Takkarist McKinley and linebacker Duke Riley (third round).
In addition to the 26th pick overall pick, the Falcons hold picks 58 (second round), 90th (third round), 126th (fourth round), 200 (sixth round) and 244 (seventh round). Atlanta was awarded the final pick in the draft (No. 256) _ referred to as Mr. Irrelevant _ as a compensatory pick for losing five players in free agency in 2017.
The Falcons are thin at wide receiver after letting Taylor Gabriel (Bears) and Andre Roberts (Jets) leave in free agency. Also, their top two receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu are 29 and 28 years old, respectively.
Roberts mostly handled the punt and kickoff returns for the Falcons.
Some mock drafts had the Falcons selecting Ridley or Maryland's D.J. Moore in the first round. Also, South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst was on their radar.
Hurst went two picks of ahead of Ridley to Baltimore. Moore went on the pick before Ridley to the Carolina Panthers.
"Ridley is an (inside) guy only, even though he runs great routes and his acceleration and burst is tremendous, at 188 pounds," NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "I struggle with him (outside)."
Moore, who's 6-foot and 200 pounds, caught 80 passes for 1,033 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
