On Wednesday, I talked wistfully about the possibility of the team drafting a defensive tackle in the middle rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft, instead of one of the players they wound up with. That was chiefly because the Falcons’ run defense has continued to be a huge issue, and with Ra’Shede Hageman cut and Courtney Upshaw on the shelf, the Falcons have had very few quality options behind Grady Jarrett and Dontari Poe.
Joe Vellano has shown himself to be what you would expect a player like Joe Vellano to be: Solid enough, but overmatched against some of the stronger offensive linemen out there, and not the kind of run stopper Atlanta badly needs.