The Atlanta Falcons releasing Casey Hayward last Friday re-opened a door that seemed to be nearly closed, or perhaps shut. With Hayward gone, the possibility of the Falcons drafting a cornerback with the No. 8 overall pick has gone from not likely to very likely. Earlier Monday The Morning Shift gave their thoughts on how the releasing of Hayward could affect the Falcons' Thursday night draft plans.
Beau Morgan believes the Falcons drafting a corner at eight is a strong possibility.
“I think a lot of people thought once they got the Okudah trade that it’s over, they’re not going to be in line for a DB at eight," said Morgan. "But now I think, I don’t ever think they were completely out of it to begin with, but now it completely brings it back in.”
Mike Johnson doesn’t mind the move, but doesn’t think it’s a smart one if it stems from the Falcons draft plans.
“If you’re making this move based on what you’re going to do in the draft I think it’s a bad move,” Johnson said. But he believes it’s a bad move because it basically puts the Falcons “in a corner”, and if there is a run on cornerbacks before Atlanta picks at eight the Falcons could find themselves in trouble.
Beau also makes the point that if the Falcons released Hayward because of their plans to draft a corner, that would go against Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith’s best player available draft philosophy they have stood by since coming to Atlanta.
Now, this move could simply be a result of Hayward failing his physical and the Falcons deciding it was in their best interest to just move on and save $5 million in cap space. However, there is a chance that the Falcons could bring back the veteran corner at a cheaper price at a later date.
Whether the Falcons decide to bring Hayward back or not, the past two drafts have shown Fontenot and Smith are committed to drafting the best player available, and releasing Hayward probably has no effect on whether or not the Falcons will be drafting a cornerback with the eighth overall pick, but the good news is that we will finally start to get answers Thursday night.
