Friday the 13th treated Atlanta Falcons fans well after the team traded for a massive wide receiver: former Las Vegas Raiders 2020 third-round pick Bryan Edwards.
Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal was the first to break the news via Twitter before ESPN’s Adam Schefter chimed in with the compensation details.
Per sources close to Schefter, the Raiders sent Edwards and a 2023 seventh-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for the Falcons’ 2023 fifth-round pick.
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Fans Go Crazy Over Edwards’ Size
A 6-foot-3, 212-pound receiver, Edwards has been compared to NFL greats such as Terrell Owens and Randy Moss, according to Raiders’ digital guy Levi Edwards.
And the big man joins two more giants on Atlanta’s receiving offense in 6-foot-6, 247-pound tight end Kyle Pitts and 6-foot-4, 209-pound wideout Drake London.
In fact, fans and the media members are already addressing the addition of his massive size across Twitter.:
It looks like the Falcons are building a mobile brick wall:
And some would say this was a smart move for the Falcons:
One may even believe the exchange was a steal:
The Falcons are could now be real competitors in the NFC South:
The Raiders drafted Edwards out of South Carolina at 81st overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. He started alongside Henry Ruggs as a rookie and finished his first big league season appearing in 12 games with 3 starts, recording 11 receptions for 193 yards and one touchdown.
His production increased last year as Edwards finished the 2021 season with 34 catches for 571 yards and three touchdowns.
The 23-year-old was a missing piece to Atlanta’s receiving depth and could end up being a long-term answer.
Falcons Have a Need for a Wide Receiver No. 1
The Falcons have had a need at wide receiver since trading away Julio Jones last off-season. Things only got worse from there as they “lost” Calvin Ridley to a mental health break amid the 2021 season and now to a gambling suspension that is set to last an entire season.
In place of Ridley, Russell Gage was forced to step up alongside Tajae Sharpe and Olamide Zaccheaus in 2021. While Gage did a decent job filling a void, he hit the open market at the end of the year and found a new home with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sharpe also became a free agent but it seems the Falcons were fond enough of his production from last season to re-sign him as they did Zaccheaus.
With the re-signing of Zaccheaus, he automatically jumped to the No. 1 receiving slot on the team’s unofficial depth chart. But while the former 2019 undrafted free agent has shown flashes of potential, he hasn’t been reliable enough to be a top wideout that the Falcons can count on that will make them 2022 contenders.
That being said, the Falcons’ recent additions of No. 8 overall pick Drake London from last month’s draft and Bryan Edwards should solidify their receiving room and put them in a better position to at least keep up with their opponents this year.
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