While there are several teams that seem to be logical fits for a first-round quarterback talent in this year’s draft, including teams in need of franchise redirection (like the Bengals and Dolphins) or teams with an aging presence in his final years (like the Saints or Colts).
The Falcons don’t really seem to fit the bill in either of those categories. Nonetheless, Atlanta was brought up as yet another team that could trade up in the draft for an intriguing quarterback prospect.
In an appearance on the “Load Management” podcast, NFL reporter Ian Rapoport was asked about some of his draft predictions.
“You will see one team with an entrenched quarterback… jump up big for a quarterback, that’s my guess,” Rapoport said, mentioning the Saints and the Patriots (acknowledging that they no longer have an entrenched quarterback) as two teams that could logically go in this direction. “Thomas Dimitroff was strangely interested in quarterbacks this year at the draft, showing at the weigh-in.”
For a team that enters the draft with a number of positional concerns, primarily in the defensive unit, this rumor may come as a surprise. It shouldn’t be taken as a report, per se, given that it was just Rapoport’s prediction. However, the news that Dimitroff is “strangely interested” gives the rumor a certain connotation.
“Strangely” interested? That makes it sound like Dimitroff is deviating from the expected path, and most fans fully expect that Matt Ryan has a long future ahead of him in Atlanta, given the lack of any legitimate trade rumors prior to this and his bulky contract that would likely keep him around until 2023.
But if Dimitroff is infatuated with a quarterback to take early, which quarterback might that be? Rapoport said that he could see Jordan Love get taken “in the teens or something.” But with the Falcons at pick No. 16, would that really necessitate the team moving up in order to get a guy like Love, as Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert all seem to rank ahead of him?
There’s some logic behind drafting a quarterback this year, but trading up and potentially using a first-round pick on the position when the defense is filled with holes and Matt Ryan is more than serviceable? While quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Tom Brady are over the age of 40 and leading offenses, is it really that pressing to move on from the 34-year-old Ryan? It doesn’t seem to add up.
But seeing as the NFL Draft is fully virtual and commissioner Roger Goodell is announcing the picks from his basement, I guess nothing can be viewed as an impossibility at this point in time.
