List Of Atlanta Falcons First-round Draft Picks
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Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
, a professional American football team based in Atlanta, are part of the
National Football Conference South Division The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when the league realig ...
. They joined the National Football League (NFL) as an
expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
for the 1966 season and became the first NFL franchise in the Southeastern United States. They first participated in the 1966 NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, more commonly known as the NFL Draft. In the NFL Draft, each NFL franchise annually seeks to add new players to its roster. Teams are ranked in reverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, the second-worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
; the Super Bowl champion always picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades. In their first draft, the Falcons had two picks in the first round. These selections were Tommy Nobis, a linebacker from Texas, and Randy Johnson, a quarterback from Texas A&I. The Falcons have selected number one overall four times: Tommy Nobis,
Steve Bartkowski Steven Joseph Bartkowski (born November 12, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons (1975–1985) and the Los Angeles Rams (1986). He was a tw ...
, Aundray Bruce, and
Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...
. The team has also selected number two overall three times and number three overall two times. The Falcons have selected players from
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
four times, the most from any university. The team's most recent first-round selection was Drake London, a wide receiver from the University of Southern California.


Key


Player selections


Footnotes

* The Falcons traded the #3 overall pick of the 1967 draft to the San Francisco 49ers for wide receiver Bernie Casey, offensive tackle Jim Wilson, and defensive end Jim Norton. * The Falcons traded their #14 overall pick to the Houston Oilers for defensive tackle
Mike Tilleman Michael John Tilleman (March 30, 1944 – September 18, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons (1966–76). He played college football for the Montana G ...
. * The Falcons traded their #17 overall pick to the Minnesota Vikings along with quarterback Bob Berry for quarterback Bob Lee and linebacker Lonnie Warwick. * The Falcons traded their #3 overall pick along with offensive tackle
George Kunz George Kunz (born July 5, 1947) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League from 1969–1978 and 1980 with the Atlanta Falcons 1969–1974 and History of the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Colts 1975-1978 & 1 ...
to
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
for the Colts' first and sixth-round picks. * The Falcons acquired this pick from the St. Louis Cardinals. * The Falcons traded their #4 overall pick along with a third-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for the #2 overall pick. * The Falcons traded their 1985 second-round pick and 1986 second-round pick to the Washington Redskins for the Redskins' 1985 second-round pick and the #17 overall pick in 1986. * The Falcons acquired this pick from the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
for the second, fourth, and tenth-round picks. * The Falcons traded their #1 overall pick to the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
for the Colts' fifth-round pick in 1990, #13 overall pick in 1991, wide receiver Andre Rison, and offensive tackle
Chris Hinton Christopher Jerrod Hinton (born July 31, 1961) is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts franchise. In addition to his seven seasons wi ...
. * The Falcons acquired this pick from the Washington Redskins. * The Falcons acquired this pick from the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. * The Falcons traded their #7 overall pick along with the third-round pick in 1994 and the #19 overall pick in 1996 to the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
for quarterback Jeff George. * The Falcons traded their #10 overall pick to the Cleveland Browns for the #26 pick and running back Eric Metcalf. * The Falcons acquired this pick along with the second, third, and fourth-round picks from the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
for the #11 overall pick along with the third-round pick. * The Falcons traded their #5 overall pick to the Baltimore Ravens for the 1999 second-round pick. * The Falcons traded their #5 overall pick along with wide receiver
Tim Dwight Timothy John Dwight Jr. (born July 13, 1975) is a former professional American football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University ...
, the 2002 second and 2001 third-round picks to the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
for the #1 overall pick. * The Falcons traded their #17 overall pick to the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
for the #18 overall pick and the fifth-round pick. * The Falcons traded their #23 overall pick to the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
for wide receiver
Peerless Price Peerless LeCross Price (born October 27, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Price played college football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers and was drafted ...
. * The Falcons traded their second, third, and fourth-round picks to the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
for the #29 overall and third-round picks. * The Falcons traded their #15 overall pick to the Denver Broncos for the #29 overall, third-round and a 2007 fourth-round picks. The Falcons then traded the #29 overall pick to the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
for defensive end John Abraham. * The Falcons traded their #10 overall pick and quarterback Matt Schaub to the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
for the #8 overall, second-round, and 2008 second-round picks. * The Falcons traded two second-round picks and a fourth-round pick to the Washington Redskins for the #21 overall pick along with the third and fifth-round picks. * The Falcons traded their #27 overall pick along with second-round, fourth-round and a 2012 first-round and fourth-round picks to the Cleveland Browns for the #6 overall pick . * The Falcons traded their #30 overall pick along with third- (92nd), and sixth- (198th) round selections to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for St. Louis 2013 #22nd overall pick along with a 7th-round selection. * The Falcons traded their #31 overall pick along with third- (95th), and seventh- (249th) round selections to the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
in exchange for Seattle's 2017 #26th overall pick. * The Falcons traded picks #45(second round) and #79 (third round) to the Los Ángeles Rams. In exchange, the Falcons got the Rams' #31 and #203 (sixth round) Picks


References

;General * * ;Specific {{featured list
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
* First round draft picks