For Falcons President and GM Rich McKay, the opportunity to gain needed value for QB Matt Schaub was realized today as the club strengthened their first round draft position and gained second round picks in each of the next two years in a deal with Houston.
In the deal, the Falcons flipped first round spots with the Texans as Atlanta moves up two positions to #8 and Houston moves down two spots to #10. In addition, the Falcons will receive the Texans' second round selection this year (39th overall) and Houston's second round selection in 2008.
"What happened in this instance is that teams were interested in talking to Matt, but weren't interest in talking to him about an offer sheet and a first and third round pick," Falcons President and GM Rich McKay said about the process of an restricted free agent signing an offer sheet that would have given Atlanta compensation if they did not match the offer. "We had a number of teams call and Houston probably became the most persistent. They were able to work out a contract with Matt and we were able to work out compensation that we thought was good for us both in the short and long term."
"We don't ever want to see a player go, especially one the quality of Matt, but in this (free agent) system, that is what is going to happen," McKay continued. "The quarterback position is coveted and he had been here three years and done an awfully good job for us as a backup."
The potential of the Falcons not receiving any compensation if Schaub left as an unrestricted free agent after the 2007 season did weigh on the process, according to McKay. There were varied levels of interest in Schaub in the past few months from other clubs and Houston entered the picture in the past three weeks.
"We would only be able to keep him for one more year, so this was a situation that was in our minds was good for us and good for Matt," he said.
"In this system, you are not going to be able to pay and maintain two quarterbacks who have starting talent," McKay said about the Falcons' current quarterback roster. "Michael Vick is a great quarterback in our mind and one who we could win a championship with, so there was going to be a time that Matt was going to move on. The question was going to be - was it last year, this year or was it next year. This was the right time based on the compensation we could get and I am happy for Matt because he gets a good situation (in Houston)."
With the deal, Atlanta will have three selections in the first 44 spots of the draft (#8, #39 from Houston and the previously-held 44th overall pick). The Falcons have eight scheduled picks (any compensatory selections for rounds 3-7 will be announced by the league at the end of March) in the draft as they also hold one third, two fourths, a fifth and a sixth-round selection.
The pick at #8 overall would be the highest for the Falcons since the club selected current CB DeAngelo Hall at that position in 2004. Last year, the #8 selection was Ohio State S Donte Whitner, who was picked by Buffalo. In 2005, Miami (Fla.) CB Antrel Rolle went to Arizona at #8.
The swap from #10 to #8 for the Falcons was not for a specific player, but for the specific draft position, according to McKay. "Anytime you move up the ladder, you get a better chance of controlling your own destiny as to who you may get," he said. "We like #8, and we like it better than #10. If you look at the point charts, it is worth value. The two number-twos (this year) mean a lot. They are both guys who should be starters in the league at some point - either in year one or two. We were happy with it and we thought it was good value and it was fair."
Schaub, who was a restricted free agent this offseason, will head to the Texans where media speculation has him potentially supplanting David Carr -- the franchise's original quarterback -- as the club's signal caller. In his three-year career with the Falcons, Schaub completed 84-of-161 passes for 1,033 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions. His most extensive action of 2006 came in the season's final game at Philadelphia, where he came in for injured starter Michael Vick and completed 15-of-21 passes for 175 yards, one TD and one interception.
Schaub (6-5, 217 pounds) was picked by the Falcons out of Virginia in the third round (90th overall selection) of the 2004 NFL Draft. He was the Atlantic Coast Conference's Player of the Year in 2002 as a junior after he threw for 28 TDs and a 68.9 completion percentage with the Cavaliers.
