The NFL Draft just ended, but as I always say this time of year, draft geeks have no offseason. They are already busy cooking up mock drafts for 2025.
If the season goes to plan, the Falcons won’t be picking anywhere close to the top 10 again. At least, that was the way Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris justified taking Michael Penix Jr. with the 8th overall pick six weeks after giving Kirk Cousins $100 million guaranteed. With Cousins, the expectation is to win a weak NFC South and hopefully give a team or two a run for their money.
That means the Falcons will be picking in the back third of the draft, which is exactly what Dane Brugler of The Athletic projects. He has Atlanta picking 20th and taking edge rusher Nic Scourton out of Texas A&M.
20. Atlanta Falcons: Nic Scourton, Edge, Texas A&M
A Purdue transfer, Scourton is 6-4, 260 and rushes with the big-man twitch that makes it tough to keep him blocked. If you’re looking for a breakout candidate in the SEC, this is your guy.
Scourton might not be a household name right now because he spent the last two seasons at the bottom of the Big 10 with Purdue. However, that will change this year with Texas A&M, who is hoping to surprise some people in the SEC this season after the firing of Jimbo Fisher.
Regardless, Scourton was playing the best of the best offensive lines in the Big 10, and he turned in a season where he recorded 15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. If he replicates that kind of production down south, he’ll be a highly coveted prospect this time next year.
The Falcons may have neglected their defense for most of the offseason, but they finally addressed it in the middle rounds of the draft, taking defensive linemen in the second, third, and fourth rounds. However, they alone won’t be enough to fix what’s been the team’s most glaring issue for the past decade. The Falcons still need another pass rusher, probably multiple, even after adding three rookies to the group this offseason.
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Photo: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire
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