INDIANAPOLIS -- The Falcons won a coin toss early Friday with the Oakland Raiders and will pick third in the NFL Draft, AtlantaFalcons.com's Matt Moore has learned.
General Manager Thomas Dimitroff called tails at the gathering between the Raiders, Chiefs and Falcons to break a three-way tie. Each time finished 2007 with a 4-12 record. The NFL Draft will be held the last weekend in April.
Dimitroff and representatives from the Raiders and Chiefs gathered in a downtown hotel conference room just before 7:30 a.m. EST. The coin toss was complete by 7:27 with the Falcons winning the third pick. There was no need for a second coin toss, as a tie between the Raiders and Chiefs was broken based on their finish last season. Oakland will pick fourth, Kansas City fifth. Had the Falcons lost the initial flip, Dimitroff would have moved on to a coin toss with the Chiefs for the fourth spot in the draft.
“We were fortunate enough to win the coin toss with the Raiders and Chiefs, and I’m excited about the prospects of owning the third overall pick in this year’s draft,” Dimitroff said. “Selecting third in the draft sheds a totally different light on our draft possibilities and also eliminates some of the uncertainties that previously existed before today’s coin toss.”
This will be the highest draft selection since the Falcons selected fifth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft, a choice they ultimately traded.
By rule, the three teams involved Friday will rotate positions as the draft moves along, thus, the Falcons will have the fifth pick in the second round.
According to Moore, the coin nearly rolled under a table, with Dimitroff reacting with a simple smile as a representative from the league office announced the winner.
The hotel provided a full breakfast for the men, which wasn't touched.
Stay with AtlantaFalcons.com for more on this developing story.
RELATED CONTENT:
- BOARDS: See fan reaction on the coin toss on FalconsLIFE
- MATT'S BLOG: Check details on the coin flip in Moore's blog
- DRAFT ORDER: Updated first-round selection order
- AJC.com: Falcons secure third pick
- ESPN.com: Falcons to pick third in Draft
- HOT TOPICS: Look at some of the other coin-toss discussions on FalconsLIFE
