Atlanta Falcons add to defense, special teams on final day of NFL Draft

The Atlanta Falcons added three players, two in the fourth round and one in the seventh round, on Saturday as the NFL Draft reached its conclusion.

Atlanta drafted Fresno State linebacker Mykal Walker with the 119th overall pick and California safety Jaylinn Hawkins with the 134th overall pick with its two fourth-round picks. The Falcons then chose punter Sterling Hofritcher in the seventh round with the 228th overall pick.

Walker, a California native, had 183 tackles, seven sacks, 11 passes defensed, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one interception in 26 games at Fresno State, earning back-to-back first team All-Mountain West honors. He saw time at middle linebacker, outside linebacker and defensive end in 2019 when he finished with 96 tackles. Prior to joining Fresno State in 2017, Walker attended Azusa Pacific University.

Hawkins had 56 tackles, 4 1/2 for losses, two sacks, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and led California with three interceptions last season, earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors. He started 39 of 50 career games and made 158 total tackles (102 solo) and 10 interceptions.

Hofritcher, a Florida native, was the Syracuse’s starting punter for all 49 games from 2016-19, succeeding NFL punter Riley Dixon, and was a four-time candidate and a 2019 finalist for the Ray Guy Award, given annually to the nation’s top punter. Hofritcher ended his college career with the most punting yardage (11,651) in the school’s history, second-most in gross average (43.27) and second-most in number of punts (270).