Atlanta Falcons: Who will start at weak side linebacker?

Deion Jones

If the Atlanta Falcons do not select Darron Lee in the first round, or if he is already off the board, they could look toward LSU weak side linebacker Deion Jones in the third round. Deion Jones is a lot alike Lee and with a third-round pick rather than a first-round to throw out there, it may make more sense for the team.

Jones is an intriguing prospect. He has just one year as a starter under his belt so he’s already heading into the NFL as an underdog. Whether or not he can start from day one has yet to be seen but he would definitely be in the mix to be the Falcons starter.

Jones much like Lee has a ton of athleticism. Jones ran a 4.38 which was tops out of the linebacker position and has a lot of the same traits as Lee has. It’s actually mind-blowing to look at their stats side by side.

Lee has the vert slight nod over Jones but one is a first-round pick and the other is a third-round pick. What you risk, though is passing on a guy like Lee with the hopes of drafting Jones and then it not happen the way you want it too. There’s never ever a guarantee that who you want in the later rounds will still be there when you pick and without having a lot of draft picks to work with, it makes it that much harder to make a decision.

Would it be better to draft Jones in the third round and use the first-round pick on a different position such as a pass rusher? Probably. but like I said, if another team falls in love with him and drafts him much higher than the Falcons anticipated, then what do you do? The draft is all about high risk, high reward.

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