The Atlanta Falcons can’t screw up this opportunity
At 1-7, the Atlanta Falcons are sitting pretty in the NFL Draft. It is vital that the team continues to play like garbage if they want to change the culture on defense.
According to Tadd Haislop of Sportingnews.com, the Atlanta Falcons currently sit at number five in the NFL Draft, behind the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, and the Washington Redskins. It should be noted that John Buhler of FanSided has the Falcons currently drafting third after all games on Sunday.
As a fan of the team, it is hard to say you want the team to lose, but in this case, the Atlanta Falcons definitely need to continue to lose.
Tanking did wonders for the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks, giving both teams exciting, young talent that will lead both teams to exciting futures. The same can happen with the Atlanta Falcons if they tank the rest of the season and draft Chase Young.
Young is having an absolute monster of a season, tallying 13.5 sacks and five forced fumbles through eight games. He’s had a fantastic career at Ohio State and looks to have a hall of fame type career in the NFL.
A guy like Young would instantly make the Atlanta Falcons pass rush respectable. Right now, the pass rush is laughable and it is frustrating to see both Vic Beasley and Takkarist Mckinley continue to fall off in production. Drafting Young and signing or drafting another defensive end to go on the other side of the line could lead to one of, if not the most improved pass rush in terms of production.
With two games against the Saints, two games with the Panthers and a game with the 49ers still left on the schedule, it is hard to believe this team could win any of those five games. The two games against the Buccaneers and the game against the Jaguars could see a win or two come out of those three games for the Atlanta Falcons, which would definitely screw up the dream of Chase Young in a Falcons uniform.
Young could go number one in the draft with the season and career he has put together, so it is vital that the Atlanta Falcons don’t screw up this opportunity to draft a star in the making in Young. He has the ability to single-handedly change the outcome of a game, which is someone the Falcons desperately need on defense.
If the Atlanta Falcons don’t have the number one pick, then the best-case scenario would be the Dolphins or Bengals at number one. Both teams are in need of a quarterback, especially with the recent benching of Bengals’ longtime starter, Andy Dalton.
The Falcons are fortunate that some of the teams in front of them are in need of a quarterback, with the exception of Washington, who drafted Dwayne Haskins in the 2019 NFL Draft. I don’t think the New York Jets are ready to give up on Sam Darnold yet, so just in case, the Falcons need to make sure they have a worse record than the Jets, as well as the Redskins. As long as the Falcons are in front of Washington and New York, it is very likely that they could draft Young even if they aren’t the number one pick in the draft.
Next. Three things the Falcons must do during the second half. dark
A perfect scenario would be Chase Young in the first round, then Deandre Swift in the second round if he is still available. The rest of the picks could go towards improving the defense and finding a pass-rushing partner to go along with Young.
Please Falcons…don’t screw this up.