ATLANTA, Ga.–The Atlanta Falcons should take Georgia running back D’Andre Swift in the first round of the NFL draft, which is April 23-25 this year in Paradise, Nv., of greater Las Vegas.
As the NFL team playing in Atlanta, the Falcons find themselves in a unique marketing situation that is not going anywhere. Atlanta itself has, over the past two decades or so, transcended other markets for American college football to the level that it is now widely considered the World Capital of College Football. The Atlanta Falcons can capitalize on this unrivaled collegiate popularity by drafting a University of Georgia runner.
D’Andre Swift declared early for the NFL draft as a junior running back out of UGA; he should still be available with the 16th overall pick. It is believed by many Georgia fans that the Dawgs would have won it all in the 2019 season had he not been so banged up in the college postseason.
The greater metro Atlanta statistical area of $5.6 is full of regional transplants from all over the South and other regions of the country, and the diehard loyalty to the Falcons is simply not felt here in the organization’s many lean times. Yet, the city remains so hungry for a professional sports winner, that the denizens will rally around any pro team making a run.
After losing the Super Bowl by abandoning the running game completely, with a big halftime lead, and then failing to keep any positive momentum in the following years, drafting a member of the vaunted running back university (“RBU”) stable from local favorite Georgia could build some faith in the Falcons’ stated future plans to be more physical.
At UGA, D’Andre Swift ran for 1,218 yards on 196 carries as a junior and 163 times for 1,049 yards as a sophomore. He chipped in 618 rushing yards to the backfield with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, as a true freshman.
The Falcons (7-9 record) finished 30th in the NFL in rush yards in 2019.