Last Minute Falcons Rumor Recap

I wrote the other day that no one seems to know who the Falcons are picking at No. 8, and I stand by it. The growing intensity of rumors in recent days is proof enough of that, given that there’s no consensus and the always amusing addition of a bunch of names we haven’t heard from in weeks ( Drake London! Matt Corral!). The Falcons themselves said in their press conference yesterday that things are uncertain at the top of the draft, and so who they will end up with at No. 1. 8 is a bit uncertain as well.

Still, the rumors are worth passing on as we’re in the home stretch and there’s a slim chance one or two might be true. We’ll add more as we see them here, but here’s what’s current and warm from 10 a.m. this beautiful Wednesday morning.

Could Grady Jarrett be moved this week?

I do not like it !

The reality is, we just don’t know what the Falcons plan to do with Jarrett, one of the franchise’s two longtime icons (Jake Matthews being the other, Deion Jones qualifying if you enjoy what you’re more into). (he’s done in the past than what he’s done recently) still on the roster after the Falcons traded Matt Ryan and Julio Jones and let Josh Harris walk. If they think they can’t get an extension, trading it will mean tangible draft capital this year or next year and the savings they’ll need to sign their draft class, however painful that may be for me to lose my favorite player on the team.

Willis and London both feel like legitimate possibilities at No. 1. 8 if the Falcons stay put, although I’d be much more enthusiastic about the former than the latter.

Drake London, popular choice

Peter King isn’t always right or something like that, but he called the team’s interest in Kyle Pitts and their lack of desire to “force” a quarterback early enough in April a year ago. Which is why it’s probably worth noting that he lands them in London at No. 1. 8. He’s not alone, as number of false drafts analysts and journalists Suddenly have them land on the USC receiver. You’ll recall London was a popular pick a while ago before it faded into the background, but it’s back with a vengeance.

Why London? He’s 6’5″ with a massive catching radius, the ability and willingness to fight for contested catches, and the physique to shake things up after the catch. The height and ability to pick up extra yards the make feel tailor-made for an Arthur Smith passing game, where ideally everyone would be a headache to deal with after the catch.

Why not London? Personally, I don’t care about taking a wide receiver in the top ten when you’re a team with no long-term solution at quarterback, with question marks all along the offensive line, and with a ton of pressing needs on defense. If the team thinks London is the best player available, they will, and London’s exorbitant potential could make him a fun player in this attack. I just can’t see the team stacking passing game weapons with consecutive top 10 picks when so little of this roster is built and in top form, but it’s clear that a growing number of media types think it’s a legitimate possibility.

Chase rusher pass

If you know anything about me, you know that I’ve advocated for the Falcons to pick up first-round passers more or less continuously since 2006. They’ve only done it a handful of times, and none of those players didn’t work for some reason, but that didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the idea of ultimately add difference maker.

That’s why reports that the Falcons could be on Oregon’s Kayvox Thibodeaux or FSU’s Jermaine Johnson intrigued me. ESPN’s Todd McShay lands the Falcons in London – I linked this above – but he also argues that if Thibodeaux drops to eight he won’t get past the Falcons. As an avowed Thibodeaux fan, this is an intriguing rumor to me, and it’s worth noting that some analysts land it there.

Johnson, meanwhile, would have landed in the top ten picks for some time now, and there’s a growing buzz the Jets could take it at 4. If that’s not accurate, the Falcons may well be interested, given that there’s an emerging consensus that he’ll be a top-10 pick and that this team desperately needs help. Our Kevin Knight has been on Johnson for the Falcons for a while now.

The quarterback buzz won’t go away

The question, whether the Falcons have a legitimate interest, concerns who they would be after. Malik Willis is the only quarterback I would consider making the top 10 – and I would consider him highly, personally – but the team has been linked to Desmond Ridder for a while and has been linked to Matt Corral a lot lately. weeks. .

The Falcons have shown genuine interest in all three quarterbacks and, to a lesser extent, Kenny Pickett, but there is reports that they like Willis very much. If Atlanta believes in their coaching staff and in Willis’ dizzying potential, hiring him to solve their long-term need in that role makes a lot of sense, even if it will be frustrating for fans who think no quarterback only worth a top 10. pick up this year.

It should be noted that Peter King trades the Falcons back to No. 32 to grab Corral, and it’s not hard to imagine them doing that for Corral, Ridder, or even Sam Howell if they’re in love with any of those players. The team carefully avoided saying they were going to sign a quarterback, and being linked to three of them means we don’t really get a sense of who they really like here. I would continue to bet heavily on which team would invest a Day 1 or Day 2 pick in the position, however, based on nothing but my own reading of the team’s situation.

More rumors to come if and when we see them.