SportsCanadian Matthew Bergeron joined the Atlanta Falcons

Canadian Matthew Bergeron joined the Atlanta Falcons

After missing out on the first round of the NFL draft, Canadian Matthew Bergeron didn’t have to wait long Friday night to hear his name called.

The Atlanta Falcons selected the offensive lineman from Syracuse in the second round. They made a deal with the Indianapolis Colts and took Bergeron with the seventh pick of the round, 38th overall.

Bergeron was projected as a second-day pick, though some mock drafts got him into the late stages of the first round.

“It’s been a long wait and I don’t expect it to be that long,” Bergeron said in a telephone interview. “When you watch the draft as a fan, after the 20th pick you go to bed, but for me the 20th pick was where the action started.

“It has been a long wait, but I came back with a positive attitude and I am very happy. I’m excited (to go to Atlanta), I’ve never been there.”

The 23-year-old from Victoriaville, Quebec, was the first Canadian selected in this year’s draft. The 6-foot-5, 322-pound Bergeron started 11 games for Syracuse last season and served as team captain.

Then, in the third round, the Philadelphia Eagles took Illinois safety Sidney Brown, of London, Ontario, with the third pick, 66th overall.

Bergeron allowed just four sacks in 686 plays and was penalized three times. He was selected to the 2022 All-ACC Second Team and AP All-ACC Second Team.

Helped Sean Tucker pass for over 1,000 yards. Tucker also became the first player in school history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and 250-plus receiving yards.

Bergeron was invited to both the Senior Bowl and the NFL off-season. He was the second offensive lineman selected in the second round, but was the first tackle.

Five tackles were selected Thursday.

“I’ve been playing football my whole life and now it’s my job and I’m excited to hit it,” Bergeron said. “Obviously football is my passion and that your passion is your job, I think it’s a dream come true.”

When asked what kind of player the Falcons drafted, Bergeron’s answer was short and sweet: “A physical, aggressive player.”

Bergeron made 39 career starts at Syracuse and was the highest-ranked player in the CFL’s spring scouting bureau among the top 20 prospects going into Tuesday’s draft. Bergeron became the first freshman to start at tackle for the Orange in nearly 20 years.

He entered the NFL draft as one of the top Canadian prospects and ultimately earned a starting plus rating. Bergeron had a vertical jump of 30.5 inches and a wide jump of 8 feet at the NFL combine and ranked eighth among offensive tackles there.

A scouting report on Bergeron said he might have been a guard in the NFL when he was a college tackle. Scouts felt he was well-proportioned and carried his weight well, and many were impressed by his run blocking (which has been described as Pro Bowl-caliber) and his ability to excel in positioning, positioning and then completion.

The Falcons are looking to tackle Caleb McCurry (a 2019 first-round pick) at right tackle and veteran Jake Matthews (entering his 10th NFL season) at left tackle. There is a Pro Bowler at right guard, but one opening at left guard is Chris Lidstrom, who started nine games last season and joined the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent.

“He’s someone that the more I see, the more I start to like,” NFL Network draft guru Daniel Jeremiah said during the network’s broadcast on Friday. “I thought this guy had a chance to tackle (but) I immediately spoke to two teams (who said), ‘he’s got to kick.’

“I think he can play tackle in a pinch… He plays with very good balance. He rarely takes him out of position ».

Atlanta (7-10) finished second in the NFC South behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) and missed the NFL playoffs.

The 5-foot-10, 211-pound Brown was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten coach last season at Illinois. The 23-year-old Canadian started 12 games, recorded 59 tackles (3.5 for loss), six interceptions (third on FBS) with one sack and scored two defensive touchdowns in the regular season finale at Northwestern.

Brown earned second-team USA TODAY All-American and All-Big Ten (Media) honors and was a third-team PFF All-American selection. He participated in both the Senior Bowl and the NFL.

In Indianapolis, Brown posted a 4.47-second 40-yard dash time, a 40.5-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot-10 long jump, and 23 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.

Brown appeared in 51 games at Illinois. He finished with 319 tackles (186 solo, 10 tackles for loss) and 10 interceptions and was ranked third by the CFL’s scouting office among the top 20 prospects for this year’s draft.

The Eagles (14-3) finished in the NFC East last season and advanced to the Super Bowl before losing a 38-35 decision to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The last four rounds will take place on Saturday and three Canadians will be invited.

Chase Brown, Sidney’s twin, rushed for 1,643 yards at Illinois last season, the fourth-highest rushing total in the NCAA Division I standings. He was projected as a mid-round pick, as was Guelph, Ontario native Davies Robinson, a defensive lineman at Ole Miss who began his college career at the University of Guelph.

If Chase Brown is drafted, he and his brother will become the sixth duo selected in the same NFL draft, and the first since Khalil and Carlos Davis in 2020. And Robinson hopes to become the first Gryphon taken south of the border. . .

Eastern Michigan University offensive lineman Sid Chou, of Bromont, Quebec, is the other Canadian prospect. If all five are selected, it will be the most Ghanaians selected in a single draft, surpassing the previous high of four, which occurred three times (1986, 2014 and 2021).

This report by The Canadian Press was originally published on April 28, 2023.

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