Atlanta Falcons were smart to take a shot on Feleipe Franks

The Atlanta Falcons were wise to take a shot on undrafted free agent quarterback Feleipe Franks. Can his plus traits translate in the NFL?

It’s difficult to say the NFL Draft is a complete crapshoot because that’s not entirely the case. With that being said, hitting on draft picks is historically tough when it comes to the percentage of draft choices that actually end up making a substantial impact in the league. Because the chance of impact is already low enough as it is, it’s rather surprising that former Arkansas and Florida quarterback prospect Feleipe Franks fell out of the draft altogether before being signed by the Atlanta Falcons.

A guy who was known for pretty erratic quarterback play in his time with the Florida Gators (56.5 completion percentage in two seasons as a Gator) transferred to the Arkansas program and started 13 games there from 2019-20.

In that 13-game sample at Arkansas, Franks posted some respectable numbers.

• 217-of-309 passing
• 70.2 percent completion rate
• 2,805 yards
• 22 touchdowns
• 7 interceptions
• 2 rushing TDs

As erratic as Franks could be in his time with the Gators, his 13 games with Arkansas showed substantially marked improvement, at least in terms of getting the ball into the receivers’ hands.

Atlanta Falcons smart to take a shot on Feleipe Franks

The Atlanta Falcons didn’t even use a draft selection on Franks, who has one of the strongest arms in the entire class at the position and outstanding athletic metrics and size.

It’s not that the Falcons are getting a clear first-round caliber player outside of the draft or something, but there is no position in the NFL more important than quarterback. The fact that a talent like Franks was not selected seems like a huge miss by the entire league.

NFL teams have to believe in their quarterback coaches and offensive coaching staffs in general enough to believe that someone could turn this guy into at least a capable backup.

The potential is undoubtedly here with this guy. The Atlanta Falcons will have the benefit of having him around for a full offseason program as well as preseason, and it won’t be surprising if he shows some signs of erratic play in the preseason as well.

There is no question that it’s going to take some time for Franks to acclimate to the NFL game and speed, but the traits and big throws will be there in bunches.

This is a player to keep a close eye on as the NFL preseason progresses and as of right now, he should be considered a very smart risk/reward prospect for the Atlanta Falcons.