The Atlanta Falcons, my favorite NFL team, did not add many well-known players in this year’s draft, but they did add some toughness and speed to the roster.

With their first round pick, the Falcons selected Florida Gators safety Keanu Neal, who Falcons head coach Dan Quinn recruited when he was the Gators defensive coordinator. Quinn called him one of the most physical, hard-hitting safeties in the draft.

In the second round, the Falcons took the LSU Tigers’ Dion Jones, one of the fastest inside linebackers in the draft.

The Falcons addressed an offensive need in the third round, picking up Stanford tight end Austin Hooper, who is a strong blocker and also has the quickness to get off the line of scrimmage and get down field to pull in a pass.

In the fourth round, the Falcons selected Minnesota linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who is 6-feet-5 and 254 pounds. He recorded 208 career tackles, 129 of which were solo, and 25 sacks.

The Falcons did not have a fifth round pick, but in the sixth round they selected Wes

Schweitzer, a two-year starter at left tackle for San Diego State. While he played tackle in college, the Falcons say they intend to switch him to guard in the pros.

The Falcons made their final selection in the seventh round, picking up UCLA Bruins wide receiver and kickoff returner Devin Fuller, who caught 24 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns this past season.

He was also one of the top kickoff return men in the country. Former Falcons head coach Jim Mora, Jr. coaches the Bruins.

While the Falcons already have an outstanding kickoff return man in veteran Devin Hester, you can never have too much speed. Fuller should make the Falcons return game even stronger.

I have been a Falcons fan since they entered the league as an expansion team in 1966, and they have disappointed me almost every year.

They did go to one Super Bowl, falling to the Denver Broncos 34-19 January 31, 1999, in Super Bowl XXIII at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. It was Broncos star quarterback John Elway’s final game before his retirement.

When I was growing up in the late 1950s, there were no National Football League teams in the South, so we got the Washington Redskins on television every Sunday. Now we have Southern teams in Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, New Orleans and Charlotte.