We got so many great Falcons questions in our mailbag requests last week that we split it into two parts. After addressing Lamar Jackson, Desmond Ridder, Arthur Blank and more in Part 1, we are devoting Part 2 entirely to the upcoming NFL Draft.
That means that today we’re talking about Jalen Carter, edge rushers and offensive linemen.
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Josh, you have said pretty emphatically that the Falcons will not draft Jalen Carter, and you do believe he will be available at pick No. 8. Do you have a source within the Falcons organization that has given you this confidence? — Joseph R.
If Jalen Carter is there, would the Falcons be willing to draft him based on his on-field abilities alone? — Scott C.
So, on the Jalen Carter issue, Joseph refers to this article. While I probably should have used the word “idea” rather than “fact” in that last sentence about Carter, I don’t think Atlanta is going to draft Carter. That is based on what the Falcons say they value in the draft process and what I hear. To be clear, no one in the organization has told me they are not drafting Carter. If they had, I’d write an entire story on it. I just want Falcons fans to be ready for what I believe is the likelihood that the team will pass on Carter if he is available.
To address Scott’s question specifically, if the Falcons drafted Carter simply because they think he’s the most talented football player in this draft (and he probably is) it would go against a lot of things head coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot have said publicly about what they value in terms of culture and team building. I don’t want anyone to think I’m questioning Carter’s character. In fact, I hate even using the word “character” in these discussions. We don’t know what Carter’s character is. Most NFL teams probably don’t either. And “character” has to do with a lot more than football. So don’t ask me to get into a character debate.
For me, this is an availability debate. NFL teams have legitimate reasons to wonder if Carter will be ready to perform at his peak for 17 Sundays every year. It would be hard for me to use a top-10 pick in that case.
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Atlanta Falcons 2023 NFL Draft big board 2.0: Edge prospects must be the priority
Hi, Josh. I find it hard to believe that the Falcons will enter the draft with this current edge rusher group on the roster. Do you think the Falcons think the same? Or will they wait it out? There are still some decent options available. — Mark S.
I think the fact there are so many decent options, as you correctly call them, the Falcons can afford to wait until after the draft to see how things shake out. If, for example, they head into the draft hoping to get Tyree Wilson or Myles Murphy and neither is available to them and/or they don’t find somebody they love in the second round, there will be veteran pass rushers available then.
If the Beast is the main course, this is the appetizer.
Top-100 draft board with a fresh new layout that can be categorized by position. https://t.co/wPguUxHGMK
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 29, 2023
Such as Yannick Ngakoue (9 1/2 sacks in 2022), Leonard Floyd (nine), Justin Houston (9 1/2), Melvin Ingram (six), Kyle Van Noy (five), Frank Clark (five), Bud Dupree (four), Carlos Dunlap (four) and Jadeveon Clowney (two). All of those guys are still on the market. Some might be gone before the draft but not all of them, which would allow the Falcons to use one of their favorite tools — the one-year contract — to patch a hole until a better fix can be found.
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Where would you rank the edge rushers after Will Anderson? — Andrew B.
The further down the road to the draft we get, the closer I put Murphy to Wilson, but my non-Anderson list still has Wilson at the top. The Texas Tech product has prototypical size (6 feet 6 and271 pounds) for what the Falcons are expected to do at edge rusher, and he has the production numbers to back it up (14 sacks, 27 1/2 tackles for loss in the last two seasons). Murphy is basically the same size (6-5, 268), and for all the talk about Wilson’s wingspan, Murphy has longer arms (33 3/4 inches compared with 33 5/8 inches). He’s also had a very similar production to Wilson (14 1/2 sacks, 25 1/2 tackles for loss in the last two seasons). There’s a chance Murphy wows scouts and coaches at his private workout later this week and leapfrogs Wilson on some boards, but for now, I have Wilson slightly ahead.
The rest of my list is going to be Falcons-specific. For instance, I personally would be more intrigued by Nolan Smith than Lukas Van Ness, but Smith is 239 pounds and Van Ness is 272 pounds. That makes me think Atlanta would be much higher on Van Ness in a head-to-head comparison. So, after Wilson and Murphy, I’d go with Van Ness, Isaiah Foskey, Keion White and Adetomiwa Adebawore.
Hi, Josh. Have you heard anything about concerns considering Tyree Wilson’s foot surgery? There does not seem to be a lot of information readily available to get an idea of the extent and seriousness of the injury. Personally, any foot or knee injuries make me nervous, especially for a top-10 pick, but I am wondering if that is just me. — John B.
Didn’t I just see Greg Oden in a commercial during March Madness? So, yeah, I worry about big guys and foot injuries, but if Dr. James Andrews signs off on it (and the reports say he has) that’s probably good enough for NFL teams. But if the Falcons have Wilson and Murphy graded equally, could that make a difference? Sure.
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Falcons have gone all in on Desmond Ridder, who now has to justify their faith
If the Falcons stick to the best player available philosophy, and Clemson edge Myles Murphy, Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez and Texas running back Bijan Robinson are available at No. 8, who do you pick and who do the Falcons pick? — Keith B.
The Falcons drafted Kyle Pitts and Drake London because they were (at least in the Falcons’ opinion) the best players available. Does Terry Fontenot have to spell it out for us? The pick at No. 8 will be Bijan Robinson (because, well, he will be the best player available). — Bryan S.
As you guys know, I was leading the Gonzalez parade before free agency, but after the Falcons didn’t add a high-profile veteran edge, I started to rethink my position. If I’m choosing between Keith’s three above, I’m taking Murphy.
I don’t think the Falcons are going to seriously consider Robinson at No. 8, but I do think Smith will be a little sad to see him slide by. The money for a top-10 pick compared with the money to find a running back who could provide 80 percent of that value on the field is so far apart that drafting a running back that high is almost never a good value proposition. If we see Atlanta trade down to the middle of the first round, then I’d start thinking they had their eye on Robinson.
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Falcons made right call choosing several fixes over Lamar Jackson
Do you think there’s any way the Falcons may still consider Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski at No. 8 rather than reach for a less-than-sure-fire defensive edge or tackle? — Reggie W.
They definitely could. There’s still a hole at left guard (although Elijah Wilkinson could still be re-signed), and Skoronski probably could be a Day 1 starter there. He could also play tackle if the Falcons aren’t worried about his arm length, which at 32 1/4 inches is well short of what most NFL teams are looking for at tackle.
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Broderick Jones and Paris Johnson would be my favorite picks at No. 8, as it would address four needs in one go: 1. Starting LG. 2. Long-term successor to Jake Matthews. 3. Backup for injury at LT (with Hennessy taking over at LG). 4. Backup for injury at RT (ditto) — John M.
This expands on Reggie’s question about Skoronski and brings up a valid point, which is: If the Falcons are going to consider an offensive lineman at No. 8, it doesn’t have to be Skoronski. Although Skoronski is rated atop most boards, there are a lot of intriguing tackle prospects. Jones, from Georgia, and Johnson, from Ohio State, are the top tackles, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler (who has Skoronski listed with the interior linemen).
(Top photo of Jalen Carter: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
