FLOWERY BRANCH – The second round of the draft kicks off at 7 p.m. tonight and the Falcons have the 37th pick overall.
The Falcons also have the 68th pick of the third round. Rounds four through seven will be held on Saturday.
Here are five players the Falcons are considering with their second round pick:
--Missouri defensive end Kony Ealy: His combine numbers: 4.92 seconds in the 40-yard dash; 22 reps on the 225-pound bench press; 31-inch vertical; 9-6 broad jump and 6.83 in the three-cone drill. He's the third-rated defensive end in the draft and projected to be selected in the first or second round by NFLDraftScout.com. He was a first team all-SEC selection after starting all 14 games last season. He recorded 23.5 sacks and 52 tackles for loss over his career. Falcons first-round pick Jake Matthews said he was the toughest player he faced in college.
--Boise State defensive end Demarcus Lawrence: We had him rated as the fifth best
defensive end/edge rusher in the draft. He started his career at Butler Community College in Kansas. The South Carolina native picked Boise State over Clemson, Tennessee, South Carolina and Oklahoma. “Has natural pass-rush ability — shows burst, bend and closing speed to hunt down quarterbacks,” wrote Nolan Nawrocki in his “2014 NFL Draft Preview.”
--Brigham Young linebacker Kyle Van Noy: His Pro Day numbers: 4.71 seconds in the 40-yard dash; 21 reps on the 225-pound bench press; 32 1/2-inch vertical; 9-4 broad jump, 4.2 seconds in the short shuttle run and 7.22 seconds in the three-cone drill. He's the fourth-rated outside linebacker in the draft and projected to be selected in the first or second round by NFLDraftScout.com. He has 26 career sacks. He was named to four All-America teams: Walter Camp second team, Athlon Sports third team, CBSSports.com third team and SI.com honorable mention. He was also named to the FBS all-Independent first-team.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
--Florida State linebacker Telvin Smith: Smith, who played at Lowndes High, visited the Falcons. Smith, 6-foot-3, 218 pounds, helped the Seminoles win the national championship. He was the team's leading tackler with 90. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds at the combine. He chose Florida State over LSU and Georgia. He played on special teams as a freshman in 2010.
--Florida State linebacker Christian Jones: He's a 6-3, 240 pounder. He's the ninth rated linebacker in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. He picked Florida State over Alabama, Florida, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. He followed in father's footsteps as Willie Jones, Sr., starred for the Seminoles as a defensive end. He played strongside linebacker in 2011 and moved to weakside in 2012. Last season, he played middle linebacker and was sixth on the team with 49 tackles while starting 11 of 12 games heading into the BCS title game. Jones also had 7.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks to go along with six quarterback hits.
FALCONS' DRAFT BOARD
--A look at Iowa TE C.J. Fiedorowicz
--A look at West Virginia RB Charles Sims
--A look at Brigham Young OLB Kyle Van Noy
--A look at Arizona State OLB/DE Carl Bradford
--A look at Missouri DE Kony Ealy
--A look at Texas Tech TE Jace Amaro
--A look at Minnesota DT Ra'Shede Hageman
--A look at Boston College QB Chase Rettig
--A look at Oregon RB De'Anthony Thomas
--A look at Central Florida RB Storm Johnson
--A look at USC TE Xavier Grimble
--A look at Ohio State OT Jack Mewhort
--A look at Ohio State RB Carlos Hyde
--A look at Florida State C Bryan Stork
--A look at South Carolina QB Connor Shaw
--A look at Florida TE/WR Trey Burton
--BLOG: A list of the confirmed players at LOCALS DAY on Tuesday
--BLOG: FSU linebacker Telvin Smith visited the Falcons on Monday
--Falcons check out Towson State RB Terrance West, CB Jordan Love (UGA transfer)
--MyAJC ($): Eye-test vs. Tape-measure test: Falcons must trust their eyes during draft prep.
2014 NFL DRAFT CENTRAL
--Mock Draft 1.0: Falcons trade out of sixth spot to land Pryor and Ebron
--12 teams who could draft UGA star Aaron Murray
--Louisville LB Preston Brown to work out for the Falcons
--Louisville DE Marcus Smith to work out for the Falcons
--MyAJC ($): OT Greg Robinson, DE Dee Ford shine at Auburn's Pro Day
--VIDEO: Tackle Greg Robinson on Auburn's Pro Day
--VIDEO: Running back Tra Mason on Auburn's Pro Day
--Blog & VIDEO: Clemson QB Tajh Boyd has stellar Pro Day showing
--VIDEO: Clemson WR Sammy Watkins on his Pro Day
