Getty Garrett Taylor #17 and Micah Parsons #11 of the Penn State Nittany Lions tackle Terry Wilson #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Atlanta Falcons have the No. 4 overall pick in next month’s draft and with many holes to fill, it’s an unclear path at who they might select.
In the Falcholic’s latest mock draft, the Falcons swap their No. 4 pick with the Patriots in exchange for picks 15, 46 (second round), 96 (third round), and a 2022 1st.
Falcholic’s Kevin Knight and company made sense of the potential trade:
“After considering offers from several teams—and acknowledging that the most likely outcome in this scenario is that the Falcons would simply take QB Justin Fields here at 4—we accepted an offer to trade down with New England. In exchange, the Falcons picked up a two Day 2 picks and a future 1st. At 15, we selected the best player remaining on the board: versatile Penn State LB Micah Parsons, who can play multiple spots in Dean Pees defenses.”
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Micah Parson’s Scouting Report
The Falcons’ defense could use a powerhouse like Micah, or several for that matter after having more than one 4th quarter lead blown last season.
Penn State’s All-American linebacker, Micah Parsons, is arguably the best defensive draft prospect on this year’s board.
Parsons opted out of the 2020 season but his pro day was one for the books, running the 40-yard dash in a zooming 4.39 seconds. In two whopping seasons as a Nittany Lion, Parsons produced 191 total career tackles with 6.5 sacks and six forced fumbles.
The Draft Network sums up what Parsons brings to the table in their official scouting report:
“His freakish combination of size and explosiveness allow him to explode and drive into gaps when he sees the play develop and as a result he’s a persistent winner of beating ball carriers and blockers to the spot between the tackles. Parsons is an impact player on third downs, which significantly boosts his value to pro teams and masks some of the inexperiences of transitioning to stack linebacker. He’s a dynamic blitzer and has the versatility to rush against offensive linemen and claim victories to get home to the quarterback. Parsons has illustrated an incredible level of pure instinct for the game thus far and his ability to navigate the line of scrimmage and rip at the football to create turnovers is best accentuated in an aggressive front defense that will task him with playing forward early in downs and not ask him to make flat footed reads before scraping and flowing to the ball.”
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How the 49ers’ Trade Messed Up the Falcons Shot at Drafting a QB
In several other mock drafts, you might have noticed the Falcons taking one of the top five quarterbacks in next month’s draft.
The top QB’s projected to go in the first round are Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, BYU’s Zach Wilson, Alabama’s Mac Jones, and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance Pro Days. Since the 49ers traded up, new mock drafts project the Jaguars take Lawrence at No. 1, Wilson to the Jets at No. 2, Jones the 49ers at No. 3, leaving Fields or Lance to the Falcons at No. 4.
The Falcons might not be so high on taking Fields or Lance, or even Jones at No. 4. If that’s the case, don’t be surprised if they move back to address another need and add more draft capital to their already nine draft picks.
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