Coming off of a 2024 season in which they finished in second place in the NFC South at 8-9, the Falcons will be looking towards the 2025 season as a new chance to break their seven year playoff drought.
Atlanta last made the playoffs in 2017, losing to Philadelphia in the Divisional Round, one year removed from the infamous 28-3 blown lead in the Super Bowl to the New England. With the draft starting on April 24, the Falcons hold just five draft selections after losing their fifth round pick for tampering with quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Presented here is a guideline for the draft moves that the Falcons should make to build an NFC contender around second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Falcons start off the first round with a pair of trades
The Falcons are tied with the Washington Commanders for the second fewest picks in the draft with five, ahead only of the Minnesota with four selections. With multiple roster needs and a top half first round pick, Atlanta should be a willing candidate to trade down to acquire more picks.
In a mock draft article from Josh Kendall of The Athletic, The Falcons trade their first round pick (15th overall) to Cincinnati for the 17th pick and a third rounder (81st overall) before trading the 17th pick and their fourth round pick (118th overall) to the Chargers for the 22nd pick in the first round and 55th pick overall in the second round. With these moves, the team adds an additional pick and goes from two selections in the top 100 of the draft to four. If the team were to make these moves, their new draft picks would include:
Round 1, Pick 22
Round 2, Pick 46
Round 2, Pick 55
Round 3, Pick 81
Round 7, Pick 218
Round 7, Pick 242
With the 22nd pick, the Falcons select…
It comes as no surprise to any Falcons fan that the team’s biggest draft need is an edge rusher. Atlanta ranked second to last in sacks last season (31), leading only New England (28).
Luckily, edge is one of the draft’s deepest positions and trading down, in this scenario, shouldn’t hurt the team’s ability to draft a gamechanger on defense. Donovan Ezeiruaku was one of college football’s most productive edge rushers last season ranking second in sacks (16.5), third in Tackles for Loss (20.5) and racked up 80 combined tackles. He was named an All-American, won the 2024 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and also won the Ted Hendricks award which “honors the most exceptional defensive end in college football,” for his efforts. At 6-foot-2 and 248 pounds, he is slightly undersized for a typical NFL edge, but his production in college is undeniable.
At 21 years old, Ezeiruaku grades as one of the best athletes at the position and will be given a possible five years with the team to help fortify the defense.
