While the coverage surrounding the NFL draft tends to get overblown, there’s no overstating the impact that the right prospect can have on a franchise. In 2008, the Atlanta Falcons selected Matt Ryan with the third overall pick and were rewarded with a decade of competitive football and a trip to the Super Bowl.
The Falcons didn’t have as much luck with their first-round pick in 2009, selecting Ole Miss defensive tackle Peria Jerry with the 24th overall selection. Jerry spent his entire five-year career in Atlanta (2009-2013), but his impact was minimal.
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Pro Football Focus had the team go in a different direction in its 2009 NFL redraft, projecting the Falcons to take former New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung instead of Jerry at pick No. 24.
“Chung didn’t always have the best PFF overall grades, but his 11-year career makes him a worthy selection this late in a redraft,” wrote PFF’s Max Chadwick and Trevor Sikkema. “His best season was in 2015, when he earned a 78.8 PFF overall grade with a 79.3 PFF coverage grade.”
The three-time Super Bowl champion appeared in 153 games (122 starts), recording 11 career interceptions, 57 passes defended, 4.5 sacks and 521 solo tackles. Chung won the Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2014, 2016 and 2018, including the 28-3 comeback against the Falcons.
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This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons draft Patrick Chung in PFF’s 2009 NFL redraft