Falcons trade up for Justin Fields in latest PFF mock draft

In PFF’s Anthony Treash‘s latest mock draft, the Falcons traded for the third overall pick, sending the Dolphins the fourth overall pick, a 2021 third-rounder, a 2021 fourth-rounder, and a 2022 third-rounder.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1363836193264254980?s=20

I don’t think it’s likely Terry Fontenot trades that many picks to move up one spot in his first year as general manager in Atlanta. In my mind, the Dolphins will likely take Penei Sewell if he falls, leaving Fontenot in the driver’s seat. I believe instead of the Dolphins shopping the third overall pick, it’ll be the Falcons getting calls for the fourth overall pick. The only way Fontenot gets cold feet and pulls the trigger to make the trade is if he feels any number of teams could jump the Falcons.

Very similar to the 2017 NFL draft trade between the 49ers and the Bears, the Falcons might not want to risk letting their franchise quarterback go before they’re on the clock. San Francisco — who had the second overall pick — traded with Chicago for the third overall pick, two third-rounders, and a fourth-rounder; the Bears wanted to secure their future in Mitchell Trubisky and ensure nobody jumped them, i.e., the trade.

Before I give my fair warning, I wholeheartedly believe in doing everything possible to get your franchise quarterback. There are only a limited number of them every draft, so if you (Terry Fontenot) think you need to trade up one spot to get your franchise’s future, then it’s a no-brainer.

With that being said, Ryan Pace still having a job for trading up to take Trubisky should be illegal. Hindsight is 20/20, but it is clear that Trubisky wasn’t the franchise quarterback Matt Nagy and Pace thought he was. You can’t blame them for actually making that trade, which has now become a regular joke on social media, but you can blame ownership for not cutting bait.

Fontenot and Arthur Smith are in charge, and it’s their necks on the line. If they view Justin Fields as the future, giving up a couple of 2021 draft picks, and a future 2022 is dirt-cheap for a franchise quarterback. There is just more pointing towards a trade down than trade up, in my opinion.