Atlanta Falcons: Five first round options at pick 17

The Atlanta Falcons’ offseason has officially begun and the countdown begins to the 2016 NFL draft which takes place in 114 days.

The Falcons hold the No.17 pick overall after finishing with an 8-8 regular season record and will be in the market for several different positions depending on what they decide to do in free agency.

The two positions that stand out over all of the rest are linebacker and wide receiver but don’t be surprised if the Falcons elect to go in an entirely different direction once draft day comes around in late April.

What the Falcons do in the draft all depends on what direction they want to take in free agency. It’s that simple. If the Falcons feel that there is a good wide receiver available in free agency and would rather go that route then that would allow the team to draft their other needs.

The same thing applies to their linebacking corps. If they feel that there is a linebacker out there that can come in right away and contribute at a high level then the team may look towards drafting a receiver with that first No.17 pick.

Regardless of what happens, let’s take a look at five possible players that the Falcons could draft at the No.17 spot.