The Falcons don’t have many draft picks, thanks to trades and tampering, which means Terry Fontenot is going to have to bring his best stuff to Green Bay for the NFL Draft.
Holding two top-50 picks, Atlanta has to find two immediate contributors in the first and second rounds. Ideally, they’d be two impact defenders, which is exactly what Jordan Reid of ESPN has the Falcons doing in his latest mock draft. For the first time ever, the Falcons use a first-rounder on a Georgia Bulldog, landing Jalon Walker.
“Atlanta finished 31st in the NFL in sacks (31) and hasn’t had a player reach double-digit sacks since Vic Beasley Jr. in 2016. Walker can provide the Falcons with quick pass-rush help,” Reid writes. “He finished with 6.5 sacks this season, and his 17.1% pressure rate was fifth in the FBS. He’s a bit of a tweener at 6-foot-1 and 243 pounds, but the Falcons need a chaos creator behind the line of scrimmage. Walker can be used in multiple ways as an aggressive edge defender who frequently changes alignment.”
Jalon Walker is a freak, and if he somehow falls to the Falcons at the 15th pick, Terry Fontenot should sprint to the podium. He’s a man without a position, playing a little bit everywhere for the Bulldogs, but I’m willing to bet that Walker would fit just fine in Jeff Ulbrich’s defense at off-ball linebacker or on the edge. He’s that physically talented. Outside of edge rusher, the Falcons need secondary help, which is where Reid has them going in the second round in the form of East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr.
“Atlanta would be thrilled to get Revel as its No. 2 cornerback at this spot. Prior to tearing an ACL, he was on track to being a late first-rounder. Revel would be a perfect fit opposite A.J. Terrell because he can thrive in a mixture of press man and zone coverage,” Reid writes.
A first-round talent sliding to the second round? Sign me up. The Falcons need to find multiple starters in the secondary, and if they can find a starter opposite of A.J. Terrell in the second round, that would do wonders for Atlanta’s defense.
Whether it’s a defensive lineman and a defensive back or any other combination, the Falcons need to come away with two defenders in the first two rounds of April’s draft.
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David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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