It’s not often you see an NFL team take a flier on a prospect who gets arrested during the draft season, let alone in the same week as the Draft. However, the $6.3 billion Atlanta Falcons decided to overlook that bit and took their first wide receiver of this year’s draft class in Georgia Bulldogs’ Zachariah Branch, fresh out of jail.

Basically, Zachariah Branch was arrested in Athens just five days before the draft. The arrest occurred early Sunday morning, April 19, following Georgia’s G-Day spring game. Around 12:18 a.m., Athens-Clarke County police were attempting to clear a large crowd outside Cloud Bar on East Clayton Street. The bar was closing, but individuals were still trying to enter. According to the police report, an officer gave Branch multiple verbal commands to move from the sidewalk to allow customers to exit.

According to the report, he didn’t move fast enough and supposedly “smirked” at the officers, so they booked him for misdemeanor obstruction. People were joking that he basically got arrested for having a “poker face.” He was only in jail for about two hours and was released on a tiny $39 bond. Since it wasn’t a violent crime or something involving drugs or alcohol, most NFL teams didn’t seem too bothered by it. They mostly saw it as a kid being stubborn on a busy night in a college town.

Despite the headlines, the Atlanta Falcons clearly weren’t scared off. They had already done their homework on him with a top-30 visit and knew his character. So they waited until the third round and snatched him up at the 79th pick. Truth be told, it was actually as pretty smart a move as it gets. They got a first-round talent at a discount because some other teams might have been nervous about the last-minute news.

Branch set a record at Georgia with 81 catches for 811 yards last season, and he runs 4.35s. Of his 811 yards, 78% came after the catch. The Falcons can use him in the screen pass game.

Branch is joining a wide receiver room that already has Drake London and Kyle Pitts. He’ll likely start as their main slot receiver and return specialist. Not to mention, the Falcons already selected his Dawg brother, DT Christen Miller (No. 48). At the end of the day, while the arrest was a wild way to start his pro career, it looks like it’s going to be just a weird footnote in what could be a really explosive rookie season in Atlanta.

Now that the Falcons have officially added some power to their offense, the focus for Day 3 is going to be all about the “dirty work” positions.

Atlanta Falcons Day 3’s very much needed positions to fill

The Atlanta Falcons still have three picks left to work with today: No. 122 in the fourth round, No. 215 in the sixth, and No. 231 in the seventh. Here’s where they’ll probably go from here.

Interior Defensive Line (Big Nose Tackle): This is arguably the team’s biggest remaining gap. The Falcons had one of the worst D-lines last season, and they were pretty sad to watch. Scouts have pointed to guys like Darrell Jackson Jr. from Florida State or Chris McClellan from Missouri as potential targets who could fit right into the interior rotation.

Offensive Tackle (Long-term Blindside Protection): Even though the team has Jawaan Taylor as a bridge, they need some insurance at offensive tackle. Since they are rolling this season with two left-handed quarterbacks, Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, needless to say, the right tackle spot is actually the most important “blindside” protector. Even though they don’t need a Week 1 starter today, Dametrious Crowner of Texas A&M is the best pick they can get.

Inside Linebacker Depth: The Falcons lost a key leader when Kaden Elliss left in free agency. Although they’ve got Troy Anderson, they could take a leap here. Regardless, fascinating to see how Atlanta approaches the final stretch of this draft.