Desmond Trufant a hot commodity in Grantland’s NFL redraft

Apparently over at Grantland, Bill Barnwell and Robert Mays regularly redraft the NFL drafts and see where players would fall with the benefit of hindsight. According to their post for the 2013 draft, the Atlanta Falcons made a pretty good selection at No. 22 with cornerback Desmond Trufant.

In Barnwell and Mays’ redraft, Trufant doesn’t get past No. 6, with Barnwell “taking” Trufant with the fifth overall selection and Mays “taking” him with the very next selection.

Here’s a bit of why Barnwell took him at 5:

"With the Lions needing defensive help, I’m sending them after Trufant, who opposing offenses are already avoiding in Atlanta in favor of Robert Alford. Atlanta’s pass defense is a mess, but that’s mostly on the anonymous pass rush and the subpar safety play behind Trufant. He’s the real deal."

Mays isn’t quite as excited, but still takes him just a pick later for the Browns:

"I prefer Trufant to Rhodes in part because I’ve seen him do it for a little longer. Trufant got on the field from the start in Atlanta last year, and he’s been very solid since. He’s a bit on the small side, which tends to hurt him against physical receivers, but he’s a more than capable cover guy."

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So far this season, Trufant has been one of the few bright spots for the Falcons. (Didn’t we say this a lot last year too? Yeah we did.) He’s got 30 total tackles and has defended seven passes. His tackle mark comes in at No. 7 on the team, while fellow corner, and 2013 draft pick, Robert Alford leads the team with 10 passes defended.

While the Falcons are again a hot mess on the field and won’t be making the playoffs again, it’s at least nice to know that they nailed this pick with Trufant… right?