Following a 7-10 season in 2021 and an offseason filled with turnover in the NFC South, the importance of the 2022 NFL Draft for the Falcons cannot be overstated. Without a plethora of cash to spend in free agency, Atlanta will have to rely heavily on the draft in their efforts to retool the roster.
According to Warren Sharp, the Falcons are in prime position to do just that with the eight most draft capital as it currently stands. Atlanta owns eight total picks in the draft, including four within the top 74.
Saturday on the Jon Chuckery Show, Jon pointed out that the Falcons have a golden opportunity and that they don’t have to look far for an example of how one draft can put a team on the right path.
“Obviously it doesn’t mean that you’re going to come out there and draft a Super Bowl-winning team, but this is why you have to hit home runs in the draft. You have to do like the Bucs did two years ago in their Super Bowl run. You have to draft Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield. You have to draft guys that are All-Rookie. Wirfs, two years in the league, first-team All-Pro. You want to get your organization back on track, that’s how you do it. You mean I don’t have to spend a whole ton of cash on a guy who’s a first-team All-Pro player? I don’t have to pay him for right now? You mean I get all that equity now out of him for a cheap price and I get a first-team All-Pro? Hi, welcome to the draft in the NFL. That’s how you get your organization turned around," he said.
Chuckery noted that the Falcons have failed to draft franchise cornerstones in recent years and challenged the team to begin drafting like a “top-flight” organization.
“You have to find those guys whether you’re picking 3rd, 8th, 83rd, whatever. We haven’t done that in a long time,” he said.
The Falcons hold the eighth overall pick where many fans hope they address the pass rush which was arguably the worst in the NFL a season ago. The Falcons also hold two second-round picks and a third-round pick.
Speaking of the draft, this past week, the Falcons added former Bears GM Ryan Pace to the front office as a senior personnel executive under GM Terry Fontenot.
