Local Talent Selected in Fifth Round
Furman cornerback William Middleton, who grew up in Atlanta and attended Marist High School, was the first of two fifth-round selections by the Falcons Sunday afternoon.
The Falcons traded their second, fifth-round pick to the Cowboys for the 176th and 210th pick in the draft.
Middleton was an All-American in 2008 and a three-year starter. He recorded 95 tackles, five sacks, four interceptions and nine pass breakups as a senior.
“We had our eye on him after an all-star game,” Director of Player Personnel Les Snead said soon after the pick. “Then we brought him in for our local workout. He ran fast. He’s a guy that runs in the 4.4s. He’s a strong-built kid that made plays at Furman but really it was the speed that intrigued us about this kid.”
Middleton was one of many local players the Falcons took a look at. He also watched the team when it held training camp at Furman his freshman season.
He was watching the draft from his family home in Norcross.
“Anytime you can play in your hometown, especially in a city like Atlanta, it’s more than a blessing,” he said.
Middleton was voted team MVP last season, an honor the Falcons did not overlook.
“I think when you get elected team MVP that means you have intangibles,” Snead said. “That means your team, or whoever is voting sees something. Usually that means something more than stats and intangibles.
MORE ON WILLIAM MIDDLETON:
- HIGHLIGHTS: Watch Middleton during some college games
- NEWS: Info on Middleton, other draft picks (Fort Mills Times)
- FORUMS: Talk about the selection with other fans
- SNEAD: Director of Player Personnel Les Snead talks about Middleton
- AJC: Falcons take local product Middleton
now this right here is a late round pick i believe will turn into a megastar within 2 or 3 seasons.
WHAT A JOKE! I hope the Falcons get punished for this HORRIBLE pick. GO LIIONS!
Great draft so far lets keep it up !!!!
nora tee have fun watching stafford being on his back, ya’ll are going 0 and 16 again with that o-line of ya’lls
Middleton was a great pick, and I guarantee he will put up big stats with in the next 3 to 4 years. the Lions=0-16 forever.
@Nora Tee
He is better than any player on Detroits defense and at least ATL hasn’t went 0-16
Pretty sure with Brandon Pettigrew and Calvin Jihnson is going to be great. Have fun with that loser from Furman…. WHOA!@don
Aikman went what, 1-15: how did that work out for ya?@Jonathan
@Nora Tee
screw the lions the nothin without stafford and johnson
@bill
Yeah, because Furman is such a better team then Oklahoma State ~ you probably thought Vick was a good idea…cha cha cha
the lions wouldnt even be good with peyton manning, randy moss, barry sanders or the whole 85 bears defense. stafford wasnt **** in college and he wont be **** in the pros. how can you even brag about being a detroit fan. WOW
dont like that our corners arent taller than 5′10″
but at least their quick n have a decent weight.
I like Brent Grimes athletic ability but way to small
Carolinas WR Muhamad tourched us in the 1st meetin cuz Delhomme kept passin it on his side..
I cringed when TD drafted Matty last year, figuring he would spend most of the season on his rear behind the O line we were used to watching. Stafford looked shaky most of his college career, and he played behind bad O lines throughout. I hope for the sake of Dawg Nation Stafford plays up to the hype. Perhaps then the real culprit will come to light – Mark Richt is an average coach and below average recruiter..
I believe he attended Marist High School in Atlanta, not Eugene, Oregon as the bio high school link would have you believe.
I can’t believe someone is actually defending the Detroit Lions after last year! Nora Tee… wow!
why are lions fans in the Falcons website. GET OUTTA HERE we don’t want the LOSER to rub off.
solid management brings well researched personel– hats off to the atl falcons scouting team
@Nora Tee:
So you’re saying that your first-round picks will play better than our fifth-rounder?
Way to go out on a limb there, babe.
As for comparing the other 50 guys on your roster to the other 52 guys on ours: tell me, what color is the sky in your world?
Wut douchebags people from Detroit are. I guess you live in hell long enough it rubs off. LOSER GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@trolls: seriously people?… grow up
@pick: wtf? video removed?
@Nora Tee
u know wats funny nora lee…u comparing ur 1st rounder who u waste 40million dollars to our 5th rounder…n i bet fulmer gonna have a better nfl career…
nora tee what the f are you doing talking about the lions? did you watch any of last season? how about game one? ummm i believe the very falcons you are slamming owned your “team” by the way stafford is overrated and wont even start. oh and you can take pettigrew. we got a real tight end now…ever heard of tony gonzalez? probably not because you dont seem to know anything else about football. and congrats on your rad new logo…i bet you thing thatll make a difference too. grow up
detroit aint ****. forced possibly the greatest running back ever to retire because they suck. hell last time i check detroit might lose that worthless football team. new stadium and all. just blow that ish up
@ nora tee by the way.
hey where did nora tee go? i guess he or she or whatever just realized that the lions are officially in the record books as the WORST team in nfl history
Randy are you some kind of idiot!!! “Mark Richt is an average coach and below average recruiter”???? you have got to be joking right? He completely turned Georgia’s football program around and one of the biggest contributions to that turn around was his recruiting! he has recruited a class that has fallen in the top 10 in the nation the past 6 years running!
nora tee how is calvin and brandon suppose to catch the ball when stafford is on his back, ya’ll have the worst o-line in the game and ya’ll havn’t done anything to improve it. i’m a huge uga fan and i like stafford but that was a stupid pick he’s not going to be any good cause he has no line. so yea enjoy another 0 and 16 season nora lee and we’ll enjoy our draft picks.
oh and hey nora tee…hows that defense looking for you? and i wouldnt say 2 draft picks are going to convert the 30th ranked defense to “great” as you put it earlier. and seeing as your last comment was 4 hours ago, it appears as if you have pulled a typical detroit lions move and crumbled under the pressure…nothing to say? didnt think so
*30th ranked offense
lions? more like the pussy cat dolls on steroids
OK. Im just gonna put it like this. The lions are gonna improve this year. They picked up some worthy vets but they are not gonna make the playoffs. Im die hard falcons fan. The falcons are starting to look like the early 2000’s patriots. We’ve came out of that drought with coach bobby and vick’s issues. Now we’re coming off a season where we had two pro bowlers on our offense. We now have tony gonzalez who is a ten time pro bowler. So all that I ask is why are we even comparing greatness to the lions anyway? Detroit is remebered for having an inexperienced quarterback that got them a safety. LOL! Also having a defense that allowed michael turner rush for 220 yds on them. So Nora please stop the trash talking.
what do you know your a lions fan
@Nora Tee
you and the lions are jokes. I thought it was hilarious when the lions could not manage to win a single game last, that had me laughing for hours and then they come out in the draft this year and make the same mistake they always make. they love to draft offensive players early on and that is why they suck so bad, also being from atlanta i can tell you that staford wont pan out in detroit. the lions should either sell the team or move to mexico or something.
the facts are tough to look at but yes, the O line issues plaguing Georgia the last two seasons were directly attributable to lack of depth. I understand the Dawgs had injuries, but my guess is the Lions chose Stafford because he survived behind a terrible O line the past two seasons. Regarding Richt, my mind was made at the Georgia-Teennessee home game a couple of years ago when Green was the starter at QB. Tennessee dominated the first half, save one series when Shockley came in and drove down field for a score. Any “idiot” would have seen Green’s lack of mobility was useless in that game (once again, the O Line couldn’t protect Green in that game, either). Shockley might have been able to win that one – we’ll never know. He was given only one more chance in the game. Here’s my prediction – UGA goes 6-5, or something around 500 next season and calls will mount for Richt’s removal. Just a hunch, but I know how expectations if the locals, including the media always far exceed the actual performance of the team. And, I’ll save you the trouble – no, I am not a fan of Ga Tech, or any other. I want to see the Dawgs succeed as much as you do. I’m just not drinking the Koolade
What’s with a Detroit Lioness talkin’ smack? dETROIT HASN’T DONE A DAMAN THING EVER– so shaddup and go to THE VIEW website where you belong
Oh ya–some little player did well from Mississippi Valley State — HIS NAME ? JERRY RICE The size of the school doesn’t matter!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am a big Atlanta falcons fan, So any team that play The falcons Must BE CRUSH. I like Stafford because He play at Georgia, N I love Georgia, but My Falcons are first on my fav Team. I wish Stafford the best but Falcons Is My team. So Nora Tee just just chill, The Falcons are in a whole different level than the lions. Maybe you can talk trash after the upcoming season if you have any postive things to say about the lions. but right now everybody knows that the lions are the worst team in the NFL. GO Mighty FALCONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
FALCONS< FALCONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
William Middleton is a really good pick. Way to go FALCONS. Great Offence and great Defense. I will use all my season tickets!
Spell Check:
Offense*
Defense*
I understand you guys are just making fun of the Lions fangirl, but Detroit picked up Julian Peterson and Anthony Henry in the offseason. No, they won’t be great but they’re actually going to win a few games this year.
Don’t get too cocky and forget how bad we were in ‘07.
Turned them around from what? Being a Top 5-20 non-title contending team annually to being a… Top 5-20 non-title contending team annually?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Georgia fan, but I’m not as ignorantly obsessed with the kool-aid as some of you. Richt is a good coach, nothing special.