The Falcons came away from Thursday night’s first-round with Drake London, who they selected with their eighth overall pick. In his post-draft press conference, Terry Fontenot said that the big-bodied receiver out of USC was the highest-rated player on their board at the time of the pick. A run of defenders and offensive linemen — Derek Stingley Jr., Sauce Gardner, Evan Neal, Ikem Ekwonu — left Atlanta with London or a potential trade-back scenario.
The Falcons have needs across the board and more picks mean more opportunities to fill those voids; however, the Falcons weighed the offers they received and didn’t feel they adequately compared to taking London. In that same presser, Fontenot expanded on the process.
“Did you have any offers to move down?”
“We discussed some offers. It’s just a weighing process, though.” Fontenot said. “Because sometimes people will call and throw something out there that might not make sense so it’s all a weighing process comparing the player to what you could actually get. We did have some discussions.”
Here’s a link to the full media session; Fontenot begins his explanation around the 3:50 mark.
GM Terry Fontenot and Head Coach Arthur Smith speak to the media following Day 1 of the #NFLDraft https://t.co/lDOskk0f53
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) April 29, 2022
The first round of the draft was quite eventful and littered with trades. The Saints moved up to No. 11 to select Chris Olave, while the Commanders netted No. 16 (Jahan Dotson), no. 98, and No. 120; the Lions moved up from No. 32 to No. 12 to select Jameson Williams; the Eagles moved up two spots to No. 13 for Jordan Davis; the Cardinals traded No. 23 for Marquise Brown, while the Eagles traded No. 18 for AJ Brown. The Chiefs, Bills, Jets, and Jaguars also all made trades.
Expect many more on day two!
—
You must log in to post a comment.