Falcons land MVP frontrunner in 2022 NFL re-draft

The Falcons drafts have been heavily scrutinized in recent years, especially after the 2021 and 2023 cycles.

With a need for a quarterback, the club made Kyle Pitts the highest-drafted tight end in league history and made Bijan Robinson the highest-drafted running back since the Giants took Saquon Barkley.

Atlanta passed on Justin Fields, Micah Parsons, Pat Surtain II, Penei Sewell and others for Pitts while passing on Jalen Carter in favor of Robinson. Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but it’s fun to play the “what if” game.

If we did it with the 2022 draft class, the 33rd Team believes the Falcons should have drafted the current MVP frontrunner — Brock Purdy.

Falcons fans, how do yall feel ab this? pic.twitter.com/aDBRp5Tsph

— GSN (@GASportsNow) December 16, 2023

Purdy’s fantastic season continued on Sunday in a 45-29 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He had 242 yards and four touchdowns on just 16-of-25 passing. Mr. Irrelevant leads the NFL in the following metrics: yards per pass attempt (9.9), passing touchdowns (29), touchdown-to-interception ratio (29-7), passer rating (119.0) and expected points added/play among qualified quarterbacks (0.32).

He certainly deserves recognition and praise for his play; there’s no arguing the numbers. However, I think most people would consider him a product of the system. Kyle Shanahan is arguably the best play caller and designer in the league, constantly scheming open pass catchers. Moreover, the talent surrounding him is second to none.

Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brando Ayiuk, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, and Fred Warner are arguably the best players at their respective positions. That’s not to say that Purdy isn’t executing at a very high level because he is making all of the right decisions.

If you look at the 2022 draft class, the Falcons actually might be selecting Brock Purdy. There are no other quarterbacks worth taking at the 8th overall pick, and in the re-draft, all of the non-quarterbacks I’d take over Drake London were already selected.

With that being said, there’s 0% chance Purdy would be an MVP frontrunner in Arthur Smith’s offense. I think he’s more of a product of Shanahan’s system than anything. Smith’s system isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it’s not in the same conversation as Shanny’s.

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