If the Falcons had no more haters, Seth Walder would’ve died. I don’t know if someone in Atlanta did him wrong or what, but I honestly don’t know if the resident ESPN nerd has ever given the club proper credit, and he’s back at it.

Walder praised the Rams for the blockbuster trade that landed them a future first-round pick, a second- and seventh-rounder. In exchange, the Falcons got the 26th overall pick and a third-rounder. For the deal, the Falcons got an F grade.

“The Falcons are starting Michael Penix Jr. — largely still an unknown! — at quarterback next season,” Walder writes. “The chance that the pick they gave to the Rams could be top 10, or even top five, is not trivial at all. If that happens, the value of what Atlanta surrendered quickly moves higher.

“Also, it’s hard to argue there was a tier drop at edge after Pearce. Mike Green and Donovan Ezeiruaku are still on the board entering Round 2. It sure doesn’t seem as if the Falcons needed to pay a premium for Pearce. Think about what a first-round pick can net a team in the veteran trade market. Now compare that simply to the difference between Pearce and the player the Falcons could have had at 46.

“To be fair, I’ve omitted the only piece of good news for Atlanta in this exchange — picking up pick No. 101 in this year’s draft. But this sure looks like a panic move when no panic was required.”

There are two prongs to this. Similar to the Falcons’ belief they wouldn’t be in a position to draft a high-level quarterback prospect last year, Atlanta believes in Pearce Jr. If the Falcons make the playoffs and win a game or two, nobody will be saying the Rams fleeced in this situation. Of course, if the Falcons flame out and are once again picking in the top half of the draft, or as Walder believes, as high as top 5 (which is just insane), it deserves to be criticized.

However, this is also about James Pearce Jr., and not much more. If he turns into what Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris believe, this is all a moot point. The Falcons invested a lot in Pearce, and he responded by saying the belief motivates him. If he turns into a perennial Pro Bowl pass rusher, something this team has been missing since John Abraham, he’ll be worth that first-round pick and some.

Walder approaches football through an Excel spreadsheet, and through that lens, he and a lot of other analystically driven pundits fail to realize that football is unlike any other sport. Walder’s model cannot measure a player’s will. It might sound trivial, but it’s not. Football is unique in that aspect.

The Falcons had conviction in James Pearce Jr., and they paid a premium. Only time will tell if their faith will be rewarded.

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Photographer: Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire