Report: Falcons listed as a team interested in moving up in the Draft

The NFL Draft is just ten days away, and with it being completely virtual this year, expect to hear a ton of trade rumors between now and April 23rd. Most recently, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated pronounced the Falcons as one of three teams looking to trade up, with the other two being Tampa Bay and Denver. Here’s an excerpt from his article this morning.

O.K., so who is looking at trading up? Three teams that seem to be investigating it pretty pointedly: Tampa, Denver and Atlanta. The Bucs and Broncos, I’ve heard, could be going up for one of the top four linemen (Becton, Jedrick Wills, Tristan Wirfs and Andrew Thomas), making Jacksonville’s slot, at No. 9, a potential hotspot, given the needs the Browns and Jets have at 10 and 11. It’s not as clear what the Falcons would be pursuing, though GM Thomas Dimitroff has always, in the past, been more proactive than most in looking at the option of moving up.

Whether this is just a smokescreen, we won’t know until Draft day. And how far the Falcons are looking to trade up will determine how realistic the possibility is. There are names like Jeffery Okudah and Isaiah Simmons that could be game-changers for Atlanta’s defense. However, it would take a treasure chest of picks this year and next for them to move that far up the board. Given how many different needs the Falcons have, I’m not sure giving up that much would be wise. However, this is a make or break year for both Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn; they may feel this is the type of move needed to win now — even if it means mortgaging off the future. 

Dimitroff has shown no hesitancy in making blockbuster deals on Draft day. In fact, it would be odd if we didn’t see the Falcons make at least one move in a couple of weekends — whether its up or down the board — but I’d still say a trade well into the top 10 is unlikely. If the Falcons are looking to trade up in the draft, it’s probably just a few spots to land a prospect they’ve fallen in love with over the process. 

Who would you like to see Atlanta move up the board to select?