Well, the countdown is on to the NFL draft. Every week now I get asked what the Atlanta Falcons should do in the NFL draft on April 29.
The Falcons currently have the fourth-overall pick, and I am going under the premise that they will not trade by moving back or down as of right now. This is the biggest decision for this franchise in a decade. As I say all the time on Dukes and Bell, let me talk to more people and sources about Pro Days and let me continue to collect as much information as I can before I go all-in on who they should take on April 29.
Falcons fans please stop wanting the shiny toys! I know that many of you want to find our quarterback of the future at No. 4. But I am going to go with what we know right now: Matt Ryan is not going anywhere anytime soon.
As you have seen with this offseason, teams are trading for quarterbacks that no one thought would be available. Carson Wentz to the Colts, Matthew Stafford now with the Los Angeles Rams. Who knows who will be accessible or who the Falcons trade for or draft two years from now? There will be options. Plus, the cap situation will be completely different.
My point is we must live for now.
We have a quarterback, who if given a run game and protection can produce MVP-type numbers. We have witnessed it before. So, let us fix what is around Matt Ryan for now and let us do what makes us better for the future as well.
I need an immediate starter. I need an impact player. Not someone that is going to sit on the bench for a season or two. See Jordan Love with the Green Bay Packers. He will be watching again this season behind Aaron Rodgers.
If the Falcons really want to build for now, they should take left tackle Penei Sewell out of Oregon.
Matt Ryan has been sacked 42, 48, and 41 times over the last three years. After talking to some of my sources, Sewell is great at outside-zone blocking. He gave up two pressures in 21 games at Oregon. I said two pressures. Not sacks.
As a true sophomore, he was the first Oregon player too ever win the Outland Trophy for best interior lineman in college football. He was an All-American and co-AP Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, as a True SOPH!
Penei Sewell sets up the Falcons for success now and success in the future. I do not care that we already have Jake Matthews playing left tackle. You can never have enough great offensive lineman. It should not stop the Falcons from improving the most important part of the team, a position group that has not rendered the results on the offensive side of the ball that this team has lacked over the last few years. By selecting Sewell, the Falcons will have invested in the offensive line the last three drafts in the first round. That investment will pay off. It is not sexy, but it is necessary.
Penei Sewell has all the things I love about great offensive linemen. As I start to dive in on guys and sources around the NFL, they tell me he is 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds. He is very athletic for his size, he has extremely strong hands and the most important part for me! He is NASTY, NASTY AND NAASTY. He has a great frame and quick feet. As a true Sophomore he was the top-graded offensive lineman in the nation. With the highest overall grade in run blocking and his pass-blocking grade ranked second in the country.
If you want to build for now and the future, no matter who the QB is for the Atlanta Falcons. This is how. Draft Penei Sewell.
Put’em Up