The Atlanta Falcons currently control the 15th overall pick in next weeks NFL Draft. However, it is the opinion of many mock draft creators that the Falcons may not be making a selection this early on Thursday night.
Well known NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay might have been the first to start these hypotheticals when he announced last Thursday that he believed the team would ship their 15th overall pick to the Browns on draft day.
“The Falcons come into this draft with only five picks,” McShay said on his podcast, The McShay Show. “So they move back to 33. Then they still now with the trade have pick 46, and they get pick 67. Plus I gave them their two next year.”
The trend continued when the teams own senior reporter Tori McElhaney published an article on falcons.com titled ‘Flurry of Falcons trades add defensive power’. Her trade scenario sends the 15th and 118th pick to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for the 22nd, 55th, 125th, 158th, and 181st.
“With 10 picks in this year’s draft class — thanks to four in the sixth round, alone — the Chargers have more than enough capital to play with,” wrote McElhaney. “They were also willing to part ways with their fifth-round pick to move up in the fourth round, too. This was something the Falcons were willing to play ball with in order to assure a second and fifth, specifically.”
McElhaney predicted the team repurposing their new found draft capital to pick up an additional third round pick.
‘We Need Rush’ Says Head Coach Raheem Morris
The team announced on March 27th that they would be signing standout outside linebacker Leonard Floyd to a one-year deal. In his introductory press conference, Floyd made an obscure reference to verbalize how he wants the teams pass rush to look in the upcoming season.
“To me, pass rush is just like having a basketball team,” Floyd said. “You want to have a rotation. You want to have players that can come in and do their things, and then other players that come in and do their things.”
This ‘pass rush by committee’ idea was then embraced by head coach Raheem Morris a few weeks later.
“We need rush,” Morris said. “He said it perfectly about forming a basketball team, and he’ll be a piece of that. Getting that guy in there to form a way to get some better rush.”
Who Else Will The Falcons Add To Their ‘Starting Five’
For the most part, when they aren’t trading away their mid-first pick, the NFL Draft experts have the Falcons selecting an edge rusher at 15. ESPN’s lead draft analysts Mel Kiper and Field Yates have the Falcons selecting Marshall edge rusher Mike Green with the pick.
“The Falcons registered the second-fewest sacks in the league last season (31), so edge rusher is still a problem even after signing Leonard Floyd,” wrote the pair on ESPN+. “Green is explosive, powerful and pro-ready, and he should be able to get pressure on opponent QBs right away. He led the FBS with 17 sacks last season.”
The team’s own Will McFadden and NFL.com’s Adam Rank also sees Green becoming a Falcon.
Falcons’ Trading 15th Pick Predicts Team’s Own Senior Reporter