Shilique Calhoun: Atlanta Falcons draft profile

Shilique Calhoun played for Mark Dantonio’s Big 10 Champion Michigan State Spartans. Will the Atlanta Falcons go with the defensive end in the second round?

Michigan State Spartans defensive end Shilique Calhoun will enter the 2016 NFL Draft as a pass rusher that could help all 32 teams in the late first to the middle of the second round. Since the Atlanta Falcons have the No. 17 overall selection and No. 50 overall selection with their first two picks in the 2016 NFL Draft, might they go with the MSU pass rusher with either of those picks?

CBSSports.com has Shilique Calhoun as the No. 52 overall player in the 2016 NFL Draft, as well as the No. 7 defensive end, with a second-round pre-combine draft grade. That would put Calhoun right around where the Atlanta Falcons would be picking with their No. 50 pick in the middle of the second round.

Atlanta does need to improve its pass rush under second-year head coach Dan Quinn either in the 2016 NFL Draft or through this spring’s free agency period, possibly in both. Calhoun seems to have the speed, quickness, fluidity, and hand placement that Quinn typically likes out of his pass rushers.

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What knocks Shilique Calhoun down to a second-round grade is that he isn’t as strong as he looks (6’5″, 252 pounds) and doesn’t always play with the best leverage, as he “has a bad habit of popping upright at the snap.”

While he may not have the first-round grade the Atlanta Falcons may want for a pass rusher, this could end up playing to Shilique Calhoun’s advantage in landing with the Falcons in the second round, as Atlanta may hesitate on taking pass rushers with back-to-back first round selections. Atlanta used its No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft to select All-American defensive end Vic Beasley out of Clemson University.

Should the Atlanta Falcons think that Shilique Calhoun is more valuable at a second-round pick than any of the outside pass rushers they have on their draft board, it might make sense to go with the former Michigan State Spartan at No. 50 in this spring’s draft. This could stand as a wise selection for the Falcons should they go either defensive tackle, inside linebacker, safety, or even wide receiver in round one.

With the Atlanta Falcons possibly trading back to acquire more 2016 draft picks (they only have five to begin with), Atlanta could end up with maybe another second or third round pick should they move back into the 20s in the first round. This could open up more opportunities for the Falcons to draft Calhoun should he stay in the 50s in terms of draft grade.

Essentially, the Atlanta Falcons would definitely be reaching at No. 17 if they took Shilique Calhoun with their first round selection, but he would make sense at No. 50 should he still be available in the middle of the second round.

Since the Atlanta Falcons need talent in the front seven, expect the front office to go with at minimum one player to bolster their front seven with their first two picks of the 2016 NFL Draft (No. 17 and No. 50).

Going with a defensive end in the second round would satisfy the team’s want for a high-end, impact pass rusher without having to use another first round pick on that position. Pass rushers are very much hit or miss with draft selections, as players’ motor don’t always translate to the next level and scheme fit often indicates how successful a pass rusher will play in the NFL.

Next: Corey Coleman: Atlanta Falcons draft profile

Drafting Shilique Calhoun in the second round would feel like how the Atlanta Falcons went with defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman out of the University of Minnesota in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Like Calhoun, Hageman could have gone in the first round for a few teams, but was too much of a reach for general managers to bite, but had enough intrigue to think that his skill set would certainly translate to the NFL.

Calhoun isn’t as raw of a player as Hageman was (is) and Atlanta could feel comfortable with taking him at No. 50, assuming that the Falcons don’t draft another pass rusher at No. 17.

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