Should the Atlanta Falcons Move Up From 8th?

With sixty-one hours remaining until the NFL Draft officially begins Thursday (tick, tock, tick, tock), rumors have surfaced that the Atlanta Falcons may want to trade up from their 8th overall selection. According to Albert Breer of NFL Network, Atlanta wishes to acquire a top-end defensive player and may trade up to do so.

While conventional wisdom says stay put, Falcons, I’m intrigued by the idea of moving up to two or three for several reasons. With Randy Gregory and Shane Ray’s recent marijuana-related incidents, I get the feeling their stock will fall, possibly putting them out of the top ten. Do the Falcons choose to overlook these red flags and draft either junior anyway?

Clemson’s Vic Beasley looked like he would fall perfectly into the Falcons’ lap at eight. But with Gregory and Ray’s troubles, I sense he won’t make it past Washington at five now.

Kentucky’s Alvin ‘Bud’ Dupree of Macon, GA has yielded mixed reviews on whether he is a top ten pick or a mid-first round pick. Although I do believe he would fit nicely in Quinn’s front-seven scheme, even before Shane Ray’s arrest I still thought 8th was too high for Bud. Now he might climb higher than that.

So if Dimitroff and Quinn have already crossed Gregory and Ray off their draft boards, won’t have the chance to select Beasley, and aren’t sold on Bud Dupree, where does that leave the Falcons front office? Draft Todd Gurley, of course! But in all seriousness, Atlanta desperately needs a pass rusher.

Why I suggested two and three, the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars, is that both football clubs would embrace the idea of trading back more than anyone else in front of the Falcons at 8. Tampa Bay will draft either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota first overall as their new franchise quarterback. Oakland seems dead-set on selecting either Amari Cooper or Kevin White as QB Derek Carr’s primary receiving target with their fourth. The Jets think they can get either remaining quarterback Tampa doesn’t pick at six. And do we really want to go their with the Redskins front office who just exercised RGIII’s fifth year option?

Of all the teams in the National Football League, the Titans find themselves with the least talented roster. In a similar situation to the 2012 St. Louis Rams, Tennessee holds all the cards with the number two pick, hoping someone will make them an outlandish offer to exchange picks. Because of the RGIII trade, the Rams are on the cusp of ending a decade-long playoff drought. Washington might find themselves picking in the top five again next year.

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The Atlanta-Jacksonville connection never seems to go away. Jags GM Dave Caldwell served under Thomas Dimitroff before building a football team for Shad Khan in North Florida. The Jags have some interesting pieces on offense now but still need that marquee guy to thrive in Gus Bradley’s defense. If Jacksonville thinks their guy could fall to eighth and covet future draft picks as any bad team should, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dave and Tommy strike up a deal to get the Falcons picking third.

So who would the Falcons take at two or three? Dante Fowler, Jr. from Florida. When he was an assistant coach in Gainesville, Quinn recruited Fowler to the Gators. Dante has explosive speed from the outside as a pass rusher and could play many positions in Quinn’s quickness-based defensive scheme. USC’s Leonard Williams is another terrific option here as Quinn recruited him out of high school as well. Williams could wreak havoc on a new-look Falcons defensive line.

With Thomas Dimitroff’s reputation for moving up (2011 for Julio Jones and 2013 for Desmond Trufant), Falcons Assistant GM Scott Pioli’s knack for drafting talented front seven players (Justin Houston and Dontari Poe in KC), and Dan Quinn’s personal connection with Fowler and to some extent Williams, I could totally see Atlanta trading picks with Jacksonville Thursday night.

The 2015 NFL Draft commences Thursday night at 8PM ET live for the first time from Chicago.

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