Steve Wyche thinks the Falcons should draft for need

The Falcons’ media has seen a recent shift in personnel themselves as Steve Wyche will be joining the team to give national insight into the organization. In 2008, Wyche joined NFL Network as a reporter and was a senior writer for NFL.com, but prior to that, he spent four years as a beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering the Falcons. In his first contribution this time around, he goes into his reasoning for the approach he deems Terry Fontenot should take, “When you are picking as high as the Falcons are picking, it’s because things need fixing and the team needs change. So you draft for, you guessed it….need.”

Fontenot has long been touted for being emotionless in these decisions, suggesting he will stick to his best player available strategy, which he picked up from former Ravens’ general manager Ozzie Newsome. Wyche stated that the people he knows in personnel that utilize such tactics have the luxury to do so, or only happens when the prospects at positions of need are off the board. This makes sense because Newsome’s Ravens were always in the playoff conversation, meaning they had a great foundation forgoing the requirement to draft for need.

Instead of the plethora of holes on the defensive side of the ball, Wyche believes the Falcons will select Justin Fields — though he mentions he has no insider knowledge of the topic. Atlanta doesn’t need a quarterback this year, but they will soon. Matty Ice’s career is in the twilight years, and the Falcons are in a fortuitous position to select his successor as the new regime hopes never to be drafting this high again.

It doesn’t solve an immediate need, but what it does do is provide future security. Some organizations take years to shift from one great quarterback to another; it’s challenging to do. The Packers and 49ers are anomalies, finding back-to-back Hall of Fame quarterbacks. The best way to have a smooth transition with as few losing seasons as possible is to bring them in continually. In the big-picture, It makes sense to draft a quarterback, but it won’t happen without Arthur Blank’s blessing, according to Wyche.