One of the biggest gripes Falcons fans have with Terry Fontenot is his drafting, particularly the 2023 cycle when he selected Bijan Robinson over Jalen Carter.
Of course, some of it has to do with the facet of Falcons fans who are also Georgia fans, but it’s deeper than that. Firstly, I have to say this even though it goes without saying — Bijan Robinson is an elite running back.
Atlanta’s 8th overall pick from a couple of years ago broke out this year. Robinson recorded 1,456 rushing yards, good for third in the NFL, on 304 carries averaging out to 4.8 yards per attempt. The do-it-all back was also fourth in the league with 1,887 yards from scrimmage while finishing with a team-high 15 touchdowns.
He’s firmly in the top five players at his position, and you could even argue he’s higher, but Jalen Carter’s impact as a defensive tackle trumps that of even the league’s best running back. That’s just the nature of positional value and is where Falcons fans’ arguments derive from, and Atlanta’s former head coach, Mike Smith, knows how valuable a player like Jalen Carter is for a football team.
“Without a doubt, Jalen Carter is the most disruptive defensive tackle in the league right now. You can’t block him with just one person. When he’s singled, more times than not, it’s going to be a tackle for a loss or a sack,” Smith said via Dawg Post.
“I remember watching him as a Georgia Bulldog and he was the most dominating player on the field even back then. His dominance says a lot because defensive tackles have a tough job as they’re likely the guys that get doubled. Carter can beat these double teams and if you single him, you better run away from him and run quickly, otherwise he will dominate. When he plays with control and keeps his head about him, he is unstoppable.”
Carter helped power a dominant Eagles defense to a convincing 40-22 Super Bowl victory. Though he only notched two QB hits on Patrick Mahomes, the former Georgia Bulldogs star brought consistent pressure and disrupted Kansas City’s offense the entire game.
In his second season, Carter made 51 total tackles with 6.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and nine pass deflections en route to All-Pro honors. The Falcons had the opportunity to address their biggest weakness over the last decade — the pass rush — and decided to draft a running back while Tyler Allgeier was coming off a historic rookie campaign.
Bijan Robinson is great. I’m happy with Bijan Robinson, but to act like the alternative of drafting Jalen Carter isn’t preferred is asinine. The Falcons would be a better football team today with Carter.
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