Should the Atlanta Falcons double dip at corner in the upcoming NFL Draft?
By Matt Siegman
The 2020 NFL Draft is a few weeks away the Atlanta Falcons are finalizing their big board. Obvious positions of needs for the team are offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, and secondary.
The NFL Draft is always unpredictable, but fans should have a general idea of who the Atlanta Falcons would take with the sixteenth overall pick. One interesting concept for fans to think about is the possibility of double-dipping at corner.
After the Falcons released Desmond Trufant, corner is a huge need for the team. Currently, the starting corners on the team are Isaiah Oliver and Kendall Sheffield. These corners are going up against a division loaded with wide receivers: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Robby Anderson.
Given the current state of the Falcons roster, double-dipping at corner might be a good idea. There are a lot of team needs but looking at the board for the Falcons, the corner prospects in round two are going to be more beneficial than the defensive line and linebacker prospects.
Projected second round corners include A.J. Terrell, Trevon Diggs, Bryce Hall, and Damon Arnette. For the first round, the Falcons are not going to get Jeff Okudah unless they trade up for him. In round one for corners, the Falcons would likely take Kristian Fulton or C.J. Henderson.
For edge rusher, the projected second-round options are Terrell Lewis, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Curtis Weaver. So far, the corner prospects are much better in round two than edge rushers.
For the defensive line, the second-round draft prospects are Ross Blacklock, Marlon Davidson, and Raekwon Davis. Once again, the corner prospects in round two are much higher than the defensive line.
Fans can make the argument the Atlanta Falcons only need to draft one corner but go back to the beginning of the 2019 NFL season when the Atlanta Falcons started 1-7. Isaiah Oliver kept getting torched over and over. He played well in the latter part of the year but that was more because of the defensive line than his actual play.
If a stud defensive tackle is still on the board like Derrick Brown or Javon Kinlaw, they should absolutely pull the trigger. However, given their talents, it is unlikely they will still be there. The Falcons should not trade up in this draft because of the many positions of need.
An ideal scenario for double-dipping is selecting Kristian Fulton in round one and Trevon Diggs in round two. If the Falcons did this, they would be set at corner for a long time. Do not be surprised if the Falcons trade down with the Eagles so they can draft a wide receiver. Fulton should still be available where the Eagles are picking.