FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — This weekend will be the first NFL Draft for the Falcons' new leadership group. It will be the first time Ian Cunningham has entered any draft as a general manager, and the first for Kevin Stefanski as Atlanta's head coach.
The Falcons enter this draft without a first-round pick, but that doesn't mean they'll be sitting on their hands when the event kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night.
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"I've been thinking about this. I don't know if we'll do it, but just kind of trying to get a dry run of like what would it have been like," Cunningham said during his pre-draft press conference. "We're on the clock at [pick No.] 13, to try to get an extra rep at it maybe. So, just trying to find some little things that we may be able to do to kind of stay engaged, but also to get some practice. But it'll be fun. We'll be there, we'll be watching, and we'll be prepared for 48."
Teams spend the weeks leading up to the draft fine-tuning every bit of their approach, and the Falcons are no different. Draft meetings began quickly after Stefanski and Cunningham were hired, and there have been extensive conversations between the coaching staff, scouting department and analytics team to understand exactly the types of players the Falcons are looking for.
Those conversations help to identify not only the positions Atlanta wants to target but also the traits needed on their roster. They help the Falcons get the most value out of draft weekend.
"One of my most fun parts for me in this process is when we sit in the draft room and bring the coaches in and read through our players, and that's the fun debate because it is eye [of the] beholder," Stefanski said. "We don't spend a lot of time on the players that we all see the same way, but what you want to do is [say], 'Okay, you were higher on this guy than I was. Tell me why and show me why. Let's break the tape out.' Those are the fun discussions that you have.
"Where we are as an organization with Ian, myself, the coaches, we all want to push each other and support each other. I think that's the way to support Ian through this process: To give him a picture of the role of the player on our team."
Action happens quickly during draft weekend. Each selection has a ripple effect, and an unexpected move could leave teams turning to a contingency plan as time ticks away. This is why plans are made ahead of time and methodically ironed out in the weeks leading up to the main event. Surprises may happen, but teams do what they can to avoid being surprised by them.
With only a few months working together under their belts, every conversation and simulation is valuable for the Falcons' draft group. Entering Thursday night with a firm plan in place is essential, but advanced planning can only do so much.
Just as in-game adjustments can mean as much to a team's success on Sunday as its game plan entering a matchup, so too can the decisions made once the draft begins impact how a club feels when it's over. That is the benefit of Cunningham undertaking the kind of dry run he suggested when the first round begins.
The Falcons may not actually come on the clock until Day 2, but they can still get a lot of value out of Day 1.
"At this point, we already have a feel for – we know our sequence. We know the players that we like," Cunningham said. "We know the players that we're kind of targeting at different spots. It's about finding alignment. And when it's time to pull the trigger, we'll pull the trigger."
