Target acquired.

The Atlanta Falcons used the No. 19 pick to nab former Missouri Tigers OLB Sean Weatherspoon in the first round of the three-day NFL Draft marathon on Thursday.

The second-team All-American fills one of the more pressing needs for the Falcons, who finished 28th in the league against the pass last season.

“We were very excited to have to have the opportunity to take an outside linebacker who’s going to ramp up our speed, our enthusiasm, our athleticism,” GM Thomas Dimitroff told the media after the selection. “We felt that a cover-type linebacker, who has speed and flies around the football, was in our best interest. We got the guy we were targeting all along.”

Weatherspoon brings athleticism and talent to an Atlanta defensive unit that was part ineffective and part decimated by injuries last season.

Blessed with blazing speed –- he improved his time in the 40-yard dash to the mid-4.4 range during

the Combines –- the 22-year-old charismatic outside linebacker projects to play on the right side of Atlanta’s defense next season. He should challenge Mike Peterson and Stephen Nicholas for one of the outside linebacker jobs at training camp.

Weatherspoon bulked up to 251 pounds last season so that he could play inside linebacker in the Tigers’ 3-4 defense. He recorded 4.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for losses and 111 tackles overall. While at outside linebacker, Weatherspoon’s junior numbers were better – five sacks, 18.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 155 tackles.

The South Carolina native is back to his ideal weight 239 pounds to get ready for the rigors of his first NFL season. And he’s thrilled to be in the Dirty Birds’ roost.

“I’m a Falcon!!!,” he Tweeted minutes before his selection was announced.

Dimitroff has made defense a priority this season, inking free agent cornerback Dunta Robinson to a six-year, $57 million contract. They also hope to have a full season from 2009 first-round pick Peria Jerry, who sustained a season-ending injury in the Falcons’ second game.

The NFL draft continues on Friday with the second and third rounds. Atlanta shipped its second round pick to Kansas City for Tony Gonzalez, but have a pair of picks in the third round (No. 83 and No. 98).

-- PHIL FOLEY
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