Terry Fontenot has had a lot of success in free agency, but his track record in the draft is inconsistent at best. The Falcons GM’s biggest blunder at this point is Jalen Mayfield.
The 2021 third-round pick was a tackle at Michigan but wasn’t athletic enough to play the position at the NFL level. The idea was to kick him inside, though he was knocked for his lack of strength to play inside.
He was thrust into a starting role due to injury, and Mayfield’s rookie campaign is regarded among the worst first seasons in recent memory. The hope was that he would improve going into his second year, gaining much-needed strength, but Mayfield would then lose the starting job and did not appear in a single game in 2022.
Eventually, the Falcons drafted Matthew Bergeron in the second round of the 2023 draft and released Jalen Mayfield. It was a terrible draft pick at the time, and it makes it even worse that a star guard was taken in the third round of the 2021 draft 30 picks after Mayfield.
Quinn Meinerz went to Denver with the 98th pick and signed a four-year, $80 million contract extension with the Broncos earlier this week.
Sources: Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz, who has started 39 games since Denver selected him out Wisconsin–Whitewater in the third round of the 2021 Draft, is signing a four-year, $80 million contract extension that includes $45 million guaranteed and ties him to the team through the… pic.twitter.com/5puCKzozLj
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2024
“Hindsight is 20/20. Of course, you say this now!”
The entire process leading up to the 2021 draft I was banging the table for the Falcons to select Quinn Meinerz.
From January 28, 2021: Quinn Meinerz is a prospect every Falcons fan needs to know
Quinn Meinerz is a name many fans won’t recognize, and rightfully so. He played Division III for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and is the sole Division III player at the Senior Bowl. I mentioned Meinerz as a player Falcons fans should be on the lookout for during the Senior Bowl, and he’s now starting to turn heads because of his play in Mobile.
The Falcons have made their fair share of mistakes in the draft under Terry Fontenot, like using a third-round pick on Desmond Ridder, but drafting Jalen Mayfield over Quinn Meinerz will always stick in my craw.
