Worst Atlanta Falcons mock draft of the offseason

Terry Fontenot has to get his first pick with the Atlanta Falcons correct.

For as bad as former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff was, he at least nailed his first-ever pick in charge of the franchise – Matt Ryan. Honestly, he got his first two picks right as Sam Baker was a very good left tackle – when he was healthy.

With 60 days until the 2021 NFL Draft, mock drafts are going to be coming at us fast and furious. Most of them will have the Atlanta Falcons drafting a quarterback with the fourth overall pick but not NFL.com analyst Charley Casserly.

He thinks that Terry Fontenot not only makes a bad pick in the 2021 first round but he has the Falcons trading back just four spots to do so.

In Casserly’s first mock draft of the year, he thinks that the Atlanta Falcons will swap places with the Carolina Panthers and then select running back Najee Harris.

Neither trading places with Carolina nor selecting Harris are bad ideas but drafting Harris in the Top 10 is a horrid idea. We are assuming that the Falcons will pick up additional picks for moving back four places and allowing the Panthers to gran their quarterback of the future.

There are Falcons fans who hate the idea of swapping with another team from the NFC South and helping them secure a player of their choice, but if the franchise can secure another first-round pick for 2022 and at least two other picks in the first four rounds, no one should care who the trade is with.

The lone problem here is with taking Najee Harris in the Top 10.

Yes, he is talented but most outlets do not project him to be an every-down running back in the NFL, there also isn’t a consensus on who the best available running back is – though the majority of outlets actually have Clemson running back Travis Etienne as the best back in the draft.

Etienne is a tad smaller but is faster, quicker, more elusive, and was far more productive in college than Harris was – all while never being the focal point of Clemson’s offense.

While no one knows how Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith fancy the most, it would be hard to justify taking a running back in the Top 10, let alone one that isn’t arguably the best overall player at his position.

If the Falcons were to trade out of the Top 5 and land somewhere in the bottom 10 of the first round, taking Harris at that point may not be a bad idea, however, taking him in the Top 10 is a horrible idea and one that no one should expect the franchise to make.