The Falcoholic
The first wave of free agency is over, and Kevin Knight is here to bring you an updated 7-round mock draft (with a trade!) for the Falcons. Would Atlanta consider a trade down from 15, and who might be left on the board for them in the 20s?
The first week of NFL free agency is behind us. Did the Atlanta Falcons actually improve in the process? That’s a bit of an open question. Atlanta did add a number of veterans to the roster that solidified a few positions, while losing their fair share of contributors in the process—most notably, center Drew Dalman and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
Now that we’ve seen the first round of additions and subtractions, it’s the perfect opportunity to do another full seven-round mock draft for the Falcons. In this mock, I will consider trades for the first time as well. It’s a bit easier to project now that we’ve seen where the biggest dominoes have fallen, and it’s also something that Atlanta is very likely to consider due to their lack of draft capital.
Before we jump in to the mock, let’s take a look at the Falcons’ current haul of draft picks. Now that the compensatory picks have officially been awarded, this should be the final placement for these picks.
This is the written version, but you can also find the mock draft in two alternate forms as well. On our YouTube channel:
The mock is also available on all your favorite podcast platforms! You can listen to it directly here:
Previous mock drafts: First edition | Post-Combine | Post-Free Agency
TRADE — Round 1, Pick 22: EDGE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
Falcons trade pick 15 and pick 242 (7th) to the Chargers for picks 22, 86 (3rd), and 125 (4th).
The simple truth is that the Falcons need picks, and they need them badly. This draft has a lot of depth in the middle rounds that Atlanta desperately needs for the long haul. That leads me to believe the team will be trying very hard to trade down, and would be willing to take slightly below market value to help facilitate it. The Chargers are in dire need of another top receiver and face a dicey situation between picks 15 and 22. These receivers could go quick, and if Los Angeles has a clear favorite, jumping up with Atlanta could make a lot of sense for both sides. So Atlanta accepts a third and a fourth to move down to 22.
Luckily, this class is deep in the positions of need for Atlanta: defensive line and defensive back. Malaki Starks wound up going at pick 21, so the Falcons pivot to one of my favorite edge rushers on the board: Texas A&M’s Nic...
