Monday, February 25, 2013
Falcons to draft a TE?
By Tim Kavanagh
One of the unresolved issues for the defending NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons is the decision by TE Tony Gonzalez regarding the continuation of his NFL career. Gonzalez is technically an unrestricted free agent, but if he does decide to return for another campaign, it's believed that it would be with Atlanta, with whom he's enjoyed a fine sojourn in the late stages of his career.
The Falcons are not sitting back idly for Gonzalez to make his decision, however. Speaking to the media at the scouting combine, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff hinted that the club is scouting the TEs in this year's draft class, looking for another player that can do it all from that position. "We talk about it all the time when we're in our draft room, if you can find a tight end who can block, as well as run a route, separate, catch a ball and turn upfield -- and there are a number of them in the league right now. It's not just Tony Gonzalez," Dimitroff noted, per AtlantaFalcons.com. "[There's] a number of these tight ends who have been very prolific in our league and are such high-percentage shots that make us all realize the importance of the position and we definitely don't underestimate when we're evaluating."
ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas believes this is a wise strategy:
Pat Yasinskas
TEs on Atlanta's radar"Even if Gonzalez decides to return for another season, I still could see the Falcons taking a tight end in this year's draft. It wouldn't hurt to have the eventual successor to Gonzalez spend a year learning from the best tight end ever."
