Atlanta Falcons draft picks 2022: Round-by-round selections
Here is a 2022 NFL draft pick-by-pick breakdown for the Atlanta Falcons:
Round 1 (No. 8 overall) - Drake London, WR, USC: The 2021 trade of Julio Jones, 2022 suspension of Calvin Ridley and free agent departure of Russell Gage evidently moved wideout right to the top of GM Terry Fontenot's wish list. A 6-4, 219-pounder, London reminds many of Tampa Bay's Mike Evans, partially due to their basketball backgrounds. London and 2021 first-round TE Kyle Pitts should provide new QB Marcus Mariota quite a pair of capable rebounders – "twin towers" as London said. Draft tracker
Round 2 (38, from Panthers through Jets and Giants) - Arnold Ebiketie, DE/LB, Penn State: After transferring from Temple last season, he burst onto the scene in Happy Valley by posting 9½ sacks and 18 TFLs. He's not the stoutest guy (6-2, 250), but his specialty – hunting quarterbacks – immediately improves a team that finished last (by far) in 2021 with 18 total sacks. Draft tracker
Round 2 (58, from Titans) - Troy Andersen, LB, Montana State: Really good athlete (6-4, 243 pounds, 4.4 speed), he could take the starting gig left behind by departed Foyesade Oluokun, who led the NFL in tackles in 2021. Draft tracker
Round 3 (74) - Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati: He's a renowned leader, winner and worker – plus a very good athlete to boot. He'll need to work on his accuracy, but plenty going for Ridder, including an opportunity to play fairly soon depending on how things work out in Atlanta with stopgap QB Marcus Mariota. Draft tracker
Round 3 (82, from Colts) - DeAngelo Malone, LB, Western Kentucky: Another candidate to bolster Atlanta's putrid pass rusher, Malone has 25 sacks and 48½ TFLs over the past three seasons. Draft tracker
Round 5 (151) - Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU
Round 6 (190) - Justin Shaffer, OG, Georgia
Round 6 (213, compensatory) - John FitzPatrick, TE, Georgia
Atlanta Falcons' last five top draft picks:
2021 (No. 4 overall): Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
2020 (No. 16 overall): A.J. Terrell, CB, Clemson
2019 (No. 14 overall): Chris Lindstrom, OG, Boston College
2018 (No. 26 overall): Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
2017 (No. 26 overall): Takkarist McKinley, DE, UCLA
2022 NFL draft: Team-by-team picks
AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Jets | Patriots
AFC North: Bengals | Browns | Ravens | Steelers
AFC South: Colts | Jaguars | Texans | Titans
AFC West: Broncos | Chargers | Chiefs | Raiders
NFC East: Commanders | Cowboys | Eagles | Giants
NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings
NFC South: Buccaneers | Falcons | Panthers | Saints
NFC West: 49ers | Cardinals | Rams | Seahawks
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta Falcons picks in 2022 NFL draft: Round-by-round selections
