Early impact rookies: Damontae Kazee
The fifth-round draftee needs time to develop, but Atlanta seems like the perfect fit.




















The fifth-round draftee needs time to develop, but Atlanta seems like the perfect fit.
Takkarist McKinley's "volcano personality" has flattered at least one NFL evaluator, who might even like him more than Vic Beasley Jr. coming out of college.
Takkarist McKinley credits WWE wrestler Booker T, his grandmother's favorite, with inspiring him and helping keep him out of trouble.
Duke Riley speaks with Matt Moscona about his time at LSU, his emotions after being picked by the Falcons and about showing hometown kids that hard work is how you make it.
Dan Quinn vowed to build a fast, physical defense when he became Falcons coach, and he continued that effort through the first two days of the draft.
Falcons C Alex Mack and FB Derrick Coleman serve meals to firefighters at Station 19 in the Highlands of Atlanta. Mack started the dinner by thanking the firefighters for the city's response to the fire that caused a portion of an I85 bridge to collapse in late March.
After playing the Super Bowl with a fracture in his left fibula, Alex Mack needed a couple of weeks before he could move around comfortably.
NFL sacks leader Vic Beasley Jr. talks about his focus going into the 2017 season.
That Atlanta placed a second-round tender on restricted free agent Taylor Gabriel shows that where a player is drafted doesn't determine success.
The retired QB has started sports academies and is pushing his brand V7
The 21 undrafted rookies the Falcons agreed to terms with today.
There are a few items on Atlanta's agenda after last weekend, but none more important than putting the crushing Super Bowl LI loss behind them.
New Falcons defensive end Takkarist McKinley won't face punishment for his emotional outburst after being drafted.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed Falcons first round draft pick Takkarist McKinley won't be fined for using profanity on stage during a live draft night interview with Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. News first reported by NFL.com.
Mel Kiper Jr. praised the Falcons for drafting pass-rusher Takkarist McKinley to play opposite Vic Beasley Jr.
ESPN Insider's NFL draft experts recap the 2017 draft for the Atlanta Falcons, including Mel Kiper's draft grades, Todd McShay's favorite pick and more.
Undrafted Falcons OL Andreas Knappe (6-8, 312) from UConn spending his Sunday afternoon playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with his buddies back at home in Denmark. (Photo courtesy of @Jpppace2). Knappe will report May 11 for rookie minicamp.
Vaughn McClure breaks down the moves he liked and the moves that might not work out for the Falcons.
Sorting out the depth charts in the secondary, at running back and a guard will be interesting developments for the Falcons.
Vaughn McClure breaks down the Atlanta Falcons' 2017 draft class.
It will be years before we can accurately assess the Falcons' 2017 rookie class, but it's time to weigh in on how well the team used its draft resources.
Falcons bringing in Penn QB Alek Torgersen as an undrafted rookie. Matt Simms was practice squad QB last year.
Falcons have agreed to a free agent contract with OT Andreas Knappe (6-8, 325) from Denmark, according to agent John Pace. Knappe, 26, started playing football six years ago and went on to play at UConn. Was a former indoor/outdoor archery champ in Denmark.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff talk about P Matt Bosher botching new teammate Duke Riley's school while reading the Falcons' third round selection at the draft. In fairness to Bosher, the card said Duke not LSU for Riley's school.
| RD(PK) | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(26) | Takkarist McKinley | DE | UCLA |
| 3(11) | Duke Riley | ILB | LSU |
| 4(30) | Sean Harlow | C | Oregon State |
| 5(5) | Damontae Kazee | CB | San Diego State |
| 5(12) | Brian Hill | RB | Wyoming |
| 5(31) | Eric Saubert | TE | Drake |
| TEAM | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 540 | 406 |
| Tampa Bay | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 354 | 369 |
| New Orleans | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 469 | 454 |
| Carolina | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 369 | 402 |
| NAME | POS | TYPE | PREV. TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. Abdul-Quddus | S | UFA | DET |
| S. Acho | LB | UFA | CHI |
| J. Adams | OT | UFA | HOU |
| J. Addae | S | RFA | SD |
| D. Aiken | LS | UFA | NYG |





