Latest news with #Trufant
USA Today
25-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Minnesota Vikings end up with different defensive duo in 2013 NFL re-draft
The 2013 NFL Draft will be remembered as one of the last classes to have someone other than a quarterback be the top pick as an offensive player. The class as a whole in the first round was not very deep and had a lot of projects. While some players turned into All-Pros and can have some arguments to be in the Hall of Fame, others were out of the league very quickly. That is why when PFF got to this class in their re-draft series, we knew it was going to be interesting to see how it unfolded. The top pick was offensive tackle Eric Fisher, who went to the Kansas City Chiefs; second overall was Luke Joeckel, who the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted. After them, though, some names could have been in those spots in hindsight. In 2013, the Vikings had two first-round picks and went defensive line and cornerback with the selections of Sharrif Floyd and Xavier Rhodes. The pairing of a Florida Gator and a Florida State Seminole is funny, but for Vikings fans, it is a bit of trauma to think how they did not pan out. In this re-draft, they got two different defenders in edge rusher Ezekiel Ansah and cornerback Desmond Trufant. Trevor Sikkema, who guided this process, explains the picks writing, "Ansah didn't quite live up to his draft status as a No. 5 overall pick, but he was still a disruptive pass rusher at times. He earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 70.0 in four of his eight seasons in the league. He recorded 294 quarterback pressures in his career, with 44 sacks through his first five seasons. . .Trufant made his lone Pro Bowl in 2015 shortly after being drafted by Atlanta in the first round. From 2013 to 2019, he racked up 60 passes defensed. He was also one of the better run-defending cornerbacks in the league, notching four straight 80.0-plus PFF run-defense grades from 2014 to 2017. He would have been an upgrade over Rhodes, who was originally picked here." It is fun to think about how the Vikings could have stolen Ansah from the Lions, who originally drafted him. For Trufant, he had a great start to his career with the Falcons and would have been a fun addition to a talented Vikings secondary with Mike Zimmer. These continue to be fun alternate timelines to look at courtesy of PFF.
USA Today
23-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Falcons miss out on Pro Bowl cornerback in PFF's 2013 NFL redraft
Pro Football Focus' 2013 NFL redraft has Falcons take different path in Round 1 Back in 2013, the Atlanta Falcons used their first- and second-round picks to add two key members to the secondary. The team drafted cornerback Desmond Trufant in the first round, then landed defensive back Robert Alford in Round 2. While neither player is headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, both played key roles during the team's run to the Super Bowl. Trufant made his only Pro Bowl appearance with the Falcons in 2015, while Alford started 76 games during his six seasons in Atlanta. What would have happened if the Falcons went in a different direction during the 2013 NFL draft? Pro Football Focus released a 2013 redraft that has Atlanta missing out on Trufant and taking offensive lineman Justin Pugh. Pugh notched 70.0-plus PFF overall grades in each of his first four NFL seasons, all with the Giants. His career also included a three-year stretch in Arizona (2019 to 2021) during which he earned strong 70.0-plus PFF pass-blocking grades. -- PFF's Max Chadwick, Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema The Falcons would likely have been okay with landing Pugh, even if the 11-year NFL veteran never made a Pro Bowl during his playing career. However, you could argue the team needed defensive help more than an offensive lineman at that time, and it's impossible to know whether or not the Falcons would have still made the Super Bowl with Pugh. Trufant, who spent his first seven seasons in Atlanta, finished his career with 14 interceptions, 89 passes defended, seven fumbles recovered and six sacks. The Falcons did not bring back Trufant following the 2019 season. He went on to sign with the Detroit Lions in 2020. After his lone season in Detroit, Trufant spent his final year in the NFL playing for the New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders.
