Three players the Atlanta Falcons should stay away from on draft night

The Atlanta Falcons have had their fair share of busts over the last decade under former general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

New Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has been tasked with changing the trajectory of the franchise and bring them out of the rut that they have been in since losing to the Eagles in the 2017 NFC playoffs.

Looking back over the last six drafts, the Falcons missed on a lot more talent than they nailed, which is the reason they have missed the playoffs three straight seasons. If the Falcons indeed want this to be a reload and not a rebuild, they have to hit on their draft picks in 2021.

For that to happen, there are three picks the Atlanta Falcons have to stay away from.

Like anything else Atlanta Falcons-related, this will be controversial because all of us have preconceived notions of who we believe will become Hall of Fame players and who will end up being complete busts.

Justin Fields – Quarterback – Ohio State

There are going to be many people that highly disagree with him being on this list. However, it is for good reason.

No doubt that the metro-Atlanta native is a baller. He is talented and will have a decent NFL career – though he is far from the most talented quarterback in this draft.

The biggest reason that the Atlanta Falcons should stay away from Fields in this draft – he doesn’t take the game seriously and that is according to his own words.

As Ohio State was getting ready for Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, Fields had this to say about his preparation –

"“For this game, I have been preparing my butt off. I haven’t prepared like this the whole season, so maybe I played the way I did because God was just trying to tell me, for this game, that you need to lock in this game, you need to prepare for the game. Of course, I was mad after the game, but now I’m just motivated.”"

Why on earth would the Atlanta Falcons want to bring in a young man at the game’s most important position that doesn’t take his job or every opponent seriously?

The NFL is a grind and they need players that will prepare the same every week regardless of the opponent. Championship teams play to a standard every week and not to the perceived level of an opponent.

Caleb Farley – Cornerback – Virginia Tech

Coming into the 2020 college football season, Caleb Farley was the top corner in the draft and so he did what a lot of other college football did, he sat out the season. That turned out to be a really bad decision.

Farley is at the best the third corner in this NFL draft and the Atlanta Falcons should take him completely off their draft board.

He has now had two back operations to alleviate pressure on his spine.

For a guy that will get paid to run, cover, and hit people for a living that is a really bad sign. Over the last 10 days, since it came out that he was indeed having another back procedure, his draft stock has dropped considerably.

While the Atlanta Falcons absolutely need another corner to run opposite of AJ Terrell, under no circumstances should it be Caleb Farley.

Micah Parsons – Linebacker – Penn State

Not only are character issues starting to become public when it comes to Micah Parsons, but this is a guy who had motor issues at Penn State.

If a guy is a Top 10 pick in the NFL Draft, he should jump off the TV when watching a game or reviewing a film and that is something that Parsons has never done.

Like Caleb Farley, Parsons sat out the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL Draft and he blew people away running a 4.39 at the Penn State Pro Day. However, he reminds us too much of Vic Beasley – big-time athlete, explosive but limited with his pass-rush ability.

In his two seasons on the field for Penn State, he collected just 6.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. For perspective, that is nearly identical to what Grady Jarrett had in his final two seasons in college as a defensive tackle.

While this draft is not deep in pass-rush talent, there are much better players at the defensive end and linebacker positions than Parsons.