Entering the offseason, the Falcons were expected to be looking for a quarterback at the No. 8 pick in the draft. Now, with Kirk Cousins in the fold, Terry Fontenot can do anything he wants.
If Atlanta’s GM wants to trade up for someone like Malik Nabers, he can. If he wants to stand pat at No. 8, the Falcons could take the top-ranked defender on their big board. Moreover, if Fontenot feels there’s value in trading back, he could do that too.
What makes the last option especially interesting is the number of potential suitors who could trade up for the selection. There are the obvious clubs, those that need a quarterback like the Vikings at No. 11, the Broncos at No. 12, and the Raiders at No. 13 if J.J. McCarthy falls.
However, there are also plenty of other scenarios; it’s not even just the quarterback-needy teams. If Joe Alt or Rome Odunze falls to the Falcons, Fontenot could auction off the selection to a team in desperate need of a franchise left tackle or WR1, and you can add the Bills to an already long list.
On Wednesday, Buffalo traded star wide receiver Stefon Diggs as well as a 2024 sixth-round pick and 2025 fifth-round pick to Houston in exchange for the Texans’ 2025 second-round pick.
Without Diggs, the Bills’ receiving core looks bleak. They’re the exact kind of team that Terry Fontenot will be looking to make a deal with if there’s one to be made. Rome Odunze is a certifiable stud. If Brandon Beane wants to swing big and get Josh Allen another premier pass catcher, Odunze could be the player to force his hand.
Beane isn’t the only GM that Fontenot could make a deal with because the Falcons are a prime trade-back candidate for any team that needs a left tackle like Alt or a wideout like Odunze.
The Jets, who own the No. 10 pick, need a tackle and wideout. No matter how rare an intra-division trade is, the Saints need a tackle too and might be willing to move up from No. 14.
The Bengals also need a tackle to protect Joe Burrow and could move up from No. 18, and the same could be said for the Cowboys (No. 24) and Packers (No. 25). Hell, even the 49ers and Chiefs, who own the last two picks in the first round, could move up as both need wideouts and tackles.
The Falcons are in a great spot to collect a haul of draft picks if Terry Fontenot doesn’t like the crop of prospects on the board when his team is on the clock.
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Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire
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