With starter Michael Vick not yet 22 and Doug Johnson still 24, Reeves admitted the Falcons needed some experience. Atlanta cut Chris Chandler, its starter since 1997 and a 14-year veteran, on Feb. 25.
The quarterback position got even younger Sunday when the Falcons, who own a 16-32 record the last three years, chose Illinois' Kurt Kittner.
``We just felt like this was a good, young quarterback coming in,'' Reeves said.
Kittner certainly has potential. He set a Fighting Illini record with 70 career touchdown passes, and his 8,722 yards were just three shy of Jack Trudeau's school mark. Only Trudeau in 1985 and Tony Eason in '82 had better single seasons than Kittner's senior year of 3,242 yards of total offense.
To the Falcons' credit, Johnson, a two-year veteran who signed as an undrafted free agent from Florida, continues to develop into a solid NFL backup. Reeves insisted the Falcons will do what they can to offer Johnson a decent contract when he becomes a restricted free agent after this season.
``I think Doug likes being here,'' Reeves said. ``I think we will get a contract done with him and hopefully keep him around here because I think he and Mike really work well together.''
At this point last year, the Falcons had four quarterbacks on the roster Chandler, Vick, Johnson and Eric Zeier, the former Georgia star who was acquired in a March trade with Tampa Bay. Zeier, a six-year backup with starting experience in Cleveland and Baltimore, was cut before the start of last season.
``You'd always like to have a veteran guy playing quarterback, but I do think whether through injury, or whatever, that Doug is ready to move in,'' Reeves said. ``I'm very comfortable. He's come a long way in the two years he has been here.''
Atlanta did address a need on the offensive line when it traded for Houston's fourth-round pick and chose Miami guard Martin Bibla. The Falcons, who sent the expansion Texans a third-round spot in 2003, want Bibla to compete with Travis Claridge at left guard.
``He certainly has the size at 6-3, 306 pounds,'' Reeves said. ``He is a very tough guy, and so we felt like he was a good choice for us.''
Choosing Bibla also served notice to center Todd McClure. Given how far Claridge fell out of favor with coaches as he lost his right guard job to rookie Kynan Forney last year, Bibla is likely to win the left-side job.
Regardless, Bibla's presence has shifted Roberto Garza, a late-season starter at left guard, to center. Todd McClure started the last 1 1/2 years at center and remains No. 1 on the depth chart.
The Falcons used an earlier fifth-round pick on Virginia Tech safety Kevin McCadam. In Reeves' first five years, Atlanta used draft picks on three players who made no impact, Marcus Wimberly, Chris Bayne and Eric Thigpen, one who stuck for a season, Omar Brown, and two on the current roster, Johndale Carty and Corey Hall.
Iowa receiver Kahlil Hill, son of former Buffalo receiver J.D. Hill, was chosen in the sixth round. The Falcons used seventh-round spots to take Widener receiver Michael Coleman and tackle Kevin Shaffer of Tulsa.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/195668