Here's what head coach Dan Quinn and Falcons general manager Thomas had to say after picking Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft late Thursday night:
Opening Statement:
DAN QUINN: "We mentioned that we had about five different positions that we were looking at, and it was a really interesting trek to the opportunity to be able to take Calvin Ridley at our 26th pick. We're really excited to have him as another firepower weapon for us. He's going to mix in very well with our offense."
THOMAS DIMITROFF: “Yeah, the guy can add to the score, and we’re excited. It was all the way down to the end, and a number of guys were in play. So it was a really good night, and we’re really excited to welcome Ridley.”
On picking between a defensive tackle and a wide receiver for the first pick:
TD: "I'll start and Coach Dan Quinn can finish. We had both those guys in our sights. They're very good football players, and in the end, we decided we were going to go with offense. We kept all of our picks, which was an interesting, and good thing, of course. Again, we're encouraged by what's there in the future to get the positions that we're in need of."
DQ: “Yeah, you’re right to say those were, amongst others, the ones that we were kind of locked in on. I think there was a deep draft, so we thought we had some abilities with receiver, and a number of spots we talked about also. It ended up playing out for us, but that was definitely a consideration for sure.”
On if Calvin Ridley is a special talent:
DQ: "Are you talking about Calvin? Yes."
On how Ridley will fit into the offense:
TD: "We see him as a versatile receiver that can play inside and outside. He's fast, but he's highly agile and has the ability to stop and start well. He's got 19 touchdowns in his career. Again, he's a play-making type of guy. He's an explosive guy for us, and that's an important part. He's a guy that can beat man-to-man, and he has that type of quickness. Only a few guys have the speed that play outside and can change direction to play inside. So, he's really a quick guy. You can tell he's been really well-coached and is a rock solid guy. He's ready to contribute right away."
On what made them interested in Ridley:
DQ: "As I mentioned, I think his ability. I know his ability to play make and his ability to run fast. We were in the market for a guy who could really fly along with Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, and the rest of our receiver group. That addition was very important for us as we continue to move forward with our entire offensive group."
TD: “I would say his ability to create separation from the defender, I thought, was really powerful, quick, and explosive. Those are the things that jumped out on tape so clearly. So when those things happen, it’s nice as a coach, because you have a clear understanding how to feature a player in the system. So, I’m really excited. There are things that he can do, go to man-to-man, the speed, and create separation when the guy is guarding you. So, those are things that jumped out to me.”
On evaluating his drops throughout his career:
DQ: "He's a three-year starter, and we tracked it with all the receivers. There is no question that we're pretty honed in on that. We understand that people are going to have their drops, they're going to have their missed plays. In our mind, he far outweighed that in his ability to do what we wanted him to do and everything else I had mentioned. So believe me, we will continue to be working on any of the challenges that any of our players have. That's not a challenge for him. We like his hands a lot, and think he can be big-time playmaker."
On Ridley's route running ability:
DQ: "To me, it's the ability to create separation in the routes. There are certain guys that can run full speed and break a guy off by putting a foot in the ground and violently changing directions. So, he had that trait, which you can imagine makes him difficult to guard. It's one thing to have just long speed, but when you can add that and then break and accelerate out of cuts, that's what makes people tough to defend."
On which side Ridley will play as a wide receiver:
DQ: "Not necessarily. We think both sides. We'll play him both outside and inside. Sanu plays a lot inside in the slot, so we'll play him in both spots."
On whether Coach Quinn asked Julio Jones about Ridley:
DQ: "Yes, I did."
On whether they were surprised that Ridley dropped to the 26th pick:
TD: "No, not surprised. Honestly, as we were tracking what was going on in the early 20s of the draft and the players that were going, we knew if there was going to be a run on interior O-line men, that there would potentially be a good opportunity to pop a guy like Ridley in that situation, no question about it. So, no, we weren't surprised. We were incredibly encouraged as it was getting closer and closer. It was interesting because Ozzie was on the clock right before us. He had Baltimore and his connection with Alabama, and of course, that was on our mind, but it worked out well. They ended up going for a tight end, and we were trying to get who we got. We had a really good connection with the people at Alabama which was good, as far as all of our interaction. Not only Coach Quinn's interaction with Julio Jones, but with Coach Saban and the rest of the staff. We're really quite connected there, so we feel good about our interaction."
On how important the connection with Alabama is to them:
DQ: "It is an extraordinarily well-coached team. I know that firsthand just from working with Nick Saban for two years in Miami. So I have an understanding of the philosophy and mindset of how the players played. You're exactly right in terms of Julio Jones. Not only is Julio a fantastic player, but I think if you asked amongst our team about who are some of the best teammates they've had, his name would come up again. So, that's not a trick that's everywhere. For some of the men who come out of there to play, who are not only excellent players but represent team the way they do, I think, speaks a lot of their program."
TD: “He’s an extremely passionate football player. Of course, he fits into Coach Quinn’s setting here, very well. He’s upbeat, firing, and he’s ready to compete at all levels. You should have heard him on the phone. We won’t get into that, but we had a really good interaction with him. The idea of how he handled himself in his individual pro day was great. By way of our scouts, everyone was really detailed, and again, very encouraged by where his focus was. He was probably one of the more focused guys that we’ve had working out for our people in a while.”
On whether they talked with Coach Steve Sarkisian:
DQ: "We definitely did. He spent six months there with them. So, he had firsthand information on practice habits, work habits, toughness, and competitiveness. Yeah, that was a valuable portion of it. Anytime a coach gets to work with a player specifically, sometimes that's good research. He's not the only one we had connections with through there. Bryan is another one that I know and have worked with before, and Thomas Dimitroff knows as well. So, those are all part of the evaluation process. When you go through it, there's really some guys that you make a list to say these guys here would be a fantastic addition to our team. I can promise you he was very high on that list."
On how important it was to bring in another player for Coach Sarkisian to work with:
DQ: "Just for the team's sake, that's always the best thing. We're always going to make decisions based on what's best for the team. We love the speed, we love the energy, we love the toughness. That part of our game, our style is competitive and toughness. He brings this to that position. We've got a very competitive and tough receiver group. To add another member to that, you can imagine that's why we are, you know, partially so excited tonight. We're really fired up for this whole weekend to get going. There are a number of guys we're looking to add to our team over the next two days that we're really excited about. So, this is a great start to the weekend for us."
On when Ridley stood out to them:
TD: "We'd been tracking him for quite a while. He was right up near the top of our board. We were really focused in on where he was and tracking him through the whole process. Our scouts were really honed in. Of course, on a school like that, we're very detailed with our reporting on players like that. We knew somewhere along the line that we were going to have to add another receiver to this group of receivers. So we've done a lot of work on him, and again, as a staff, I'm very proud of what our entire personnel staff did with him."
On whether it was difficult for Coach Quinn to switch to picking offensive players over defense:
DQ: "It was, but not in this case. We were certainly prepared to go a couple different ways, but when this opportunity came about, we felt it was the best one to take. I recognize the question, for sure."
On whether Thomas Dimitroff felt he had to move up picks in order to get who he wanted:
TD: "I'm always pretty aggressive and active in talking to a lot of different teams. We came into this draft thinking that there was an area that we'd potentially move up to if we deemed it necessary. It wasn't anything like 21 spots, of course. But there was a substantial consideration. As we started tracking, we started realizing that we had that many people on board as a group. Myself and Coach Quinn ultimately decided that we were going to hang tight where we were, and we were going to get one of three or four players that we were really honed in at that point."
On preparation for the next rounds of the draft:
TD: "We'll revisit our board here before we leave, and debrief a little bit. The front board has obviously cleared out some. We'll look at what the next steps are. We, again, we're very fortunate and happy that we feel like there are some really good football players in a number of the other positions that we're looking at. We're excited about some of those guys. These guys are guys that we think can be legitimate contributors for us."
On the quality of the leftover defensive tackles:
TD: "I think there are a number of really good football players that could, again, be on the outside, but there are some inside guys for sure. I can't put a number on it right now."
DQ: “We’re not going to give any information, just to be clear on that.”
TD: “No, we’re not going to give a number.”
DQ: “There are a number of guys and a couple of spots that we’re pumped at. As we get started tomorrow, we’ll dig back in and go for it at a number of spots. So, it’s going to be a good day.”
