Atlanta Falcons select Keanu Neal in first round of 2016 NFL Draft

The Atlanta Falcons select Keanu Neal to come in and provide a physical presence.

A little bit high for Neal but not by much. The FSU free safety has been climbing boards for weeks. He was originally projected to go only on day three. He played the last 3 seasons making 134 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks.

He showed a tremendous progression in the second half of the season in his deep coverage. He’s a very aggressive tackler and uses his height to his advantage. He also adds great depth to special teams for the ATL. He adds a competative nature to this team because he really will be competing for every snap he gets. (I know thats an age old saying but i really mean it with him)

He will now join Desmond Trufond and Robert Alford in a very questionable Falcons secondary.They finished in the back half of the league in pass defense. One big issue though for Neal is that he really only has one speed and doesn’t have a burst level you would expect from a Safety. He also makes it too easy for Recievers to block him out and needs to use his hands a little better.

I would say with the current state of the Falcons defense he might be a day one starter.

Atlanta could continue to address the defense in next couple rounds as they have plenty of needs. They need someone to help generate  pressure off the edge so maybe someone like Oklahoma State’s Emmanuel Ogbah.

Don’t rule out a tight end like Hunter Henry.