Atlanta Falcons: QB of the future doesn’t have to come in the 2021 first round

The Atlanta Falcons don’t need to draft a quarterback in the first round in 2021.

Atlanta Falcons fans are hellbent on the team drafting a quarterback in the first round this season. While it’s understandable why the fans want this, drafting a quarterback in the first round can backfire on them, especially when there isn’t a dire need to do so.

The Falcons don’t have much of anything behind Matt Ryan on the depth chart as Matt Schaub decided to retire at the season’s end, but he was far from being the future at quarterback.

Outside of the quarterbacks on the practice squad, the only other quarterback on the roster is Kurt Benkert. While Benkert did show some flashes a few preseasons ago, it’s not a reach to say that he isn’t the future for the Falcons at the quarterback position.

Drafting a quarterback could be costly for this team.

If you need an example of this, just look at the Green Bay Packers. Instead of addressing needs on the defense or drafting more weapons for Aaron Rodgers, the Packers decided to draft Jordan Love.

Yes, Green Bay was able to go 13-3, win their division and get to the NFC championship game, but they also should have used that draft pick to solidify another spot and actually get the 2020 NFL MVP some help.

Drafting a quarterback that high with no intention of playing him sooner than later isn’t always the best idea to have.

If the Falcons want to address the quarterback situation in the draft, they are plenty of guys they can draft without using one of their early draft picks.

These quarterbacks can sit behind starter and former MVP Matt Ryan, develop for a few years, and be ready to go when Matt decides it is time to hang em up.

Kellen Mond – Texas A&M

Kellen Mond would be a good quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons to draft in the later rounds, which would allow them to take their time and properly develop him.

He possesses above-average athleticism and is a very tough runner despite his size. He will need to work on a few things like his accuracy and his mechanics but that’s something a lot of quarterbacks coming out of college need to work on.

He is as streaky as they come but he played in one of the toughest conferences in college football. You don’t start three years in the SEC if you don’t have some type of talent.

Jamie Newman – Wake Forest

Jamie Newman is another intriguing prospect.

Before he decided to sit out this season, many people thought Jamie Newman was a first-round pick due to the weapons he would have had at his disposal transferring to Georgia compared to what he had at Wake Forest.

Which is odd given UGA has only produced one good NFL quarterback in the last 30 years.

Jamie Newman possesses good arm strength and is also quite the athlete at the quarterback position. Jamie Newman also has good size but like mentioned before, he could stand to work on his mechanics and footwork as well.

Davis Mills – Stanford

Davis Mills was a four-star quarterback coming out of high school in the Atlanta area (GAC).

Some sites even had him rated as a five star and he had lots of offers coming out of high school from some big-time colleges. Mills has your prototypical size at quarterback but he’s not the athlete that Kellen Mond or Jamie Newman is.

Playing in the Pac-12 didn’t give him the visibility of other quarterbacks but Davis Mills does have some redeeming qualities. Davis Mills does have an NFL arm but he also wants to have too much faith in that arm.

A couple of years of sitting behind a veteran like Matt Ryan could allow him the time to improve his decision-making.

The Falcons aren’t going to find the perfect quarterback off the rip in the middle to late rounds. If they provide one of these young guns with the right coaching, these quarterbacks can end up being low cost with a high reward all without wasting a high round draft pick and taking away from addressing other areas of weakness.