Atlanta Falcons: What is their second biggest need?

Heading into free agency and into the 2016 NFL draft, the Atlanta Falcons’ biggest need is not in question. Their biggest need is without a doubt the linebacker position whether that be inside or outside, but what is their second biggest need?

People have fought tooth and nail on what the Falcons’ true second biggest need is once the linebacker slot is taken care of.

The positions in question are defensive end, wide receiver and safety.

If you were to poll the audience, many would feel that defensive end would trump wide receiver, and they would be correct.

While the wide receiver position needs to be addressed moving forward, the lack of pass rush for the Falcons should be their second biggest need by a large margin.

The Falcons have sat at the bottom of the NFL in sacks for the past few years and haven’t had any good production since letting longtime Falcon John Abraham walk.

The Falcons have made moves in trying to fix this problem by drafting Vic Beasley with their first pick in the 2015 NFL draft and also signed Adrian Clayborn in free agency to help out as well.

Both of these men finished one and two in sacks on the team, respectively but still did not compare to the top pass rushers in the league.

Luckily for the Falcons, there are an abundance of pass rushers in the 2016 draft and they need to go out and draft at least one of them. Players like Robert Nkemdiche and Carl Nassib have been thought about and both are real possibilities.

Nkemdiche is a Georgia native and will likely be available when the Falcons pick at 17 in this years’ draft. Nassib on the other hand will likely fall to the second round and would be a solid pickup if the Falcons choose to address the linebacker position in the first round.

There is a very strong possibility that the Falcons draft heavily on the defensive side of the ball in the draft and rightfully so. There are several good wide receivers that the Falcons can target in free agency such as Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu and there are some good safeties out there was well.

In a perfect world, the Falcons draft a linebacker, defensive end and safety with their first three picks in the draft. There is little chance that the Falcons burn a pick on a safety before the third round, but a guy like Jeremy Cash might be worth pulling the trigger on.

There is still a long way to go before the draft gets underway in late April, but it’s still important to take a look at what their biggest needs are. And realistically speaking, the defensive end position is their No.2 need.