The Atlanta Falcons should avoid Justin Fields

The biggest argument amongst Atlanta Falcons fans this season has been what the team should do with the fourth overall pick.

Some Atlanta Falcons fans think the team should draft a quarterback, some think they should trade down, and others think they should take an elite player like Kyle Pitts, Ja’Marr Chase, or Penei Sewell.

Drafting a quarterback in the first round would be a terrible mistake for first-year general manager Terry Fontenot. The team decided to restructure Matt Ryan’s deal and without going into cap hell, 2023 is the earliest they can move on from him.

Why on earth would the Atlanta Falcons use a top-five pick on a guy that would not even play for two seasons?

Matt Ryan will still be able to produce three solid seasons for the Atlanta Falcons.

Outside of Trevor Lawrence, none of the quarterbacks are going to be drastically better than Ryan these next three seasons.

The only quarterbacks that will potentially be available for the Falcons are Justin Fields, Mac Jones, or Trey Lance. It seems obvious the Jaguars and Jets will take Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson with the first two picks.

After that, it is anyone’s guess who the 49ers will take between Jones, Fields, and Lance.

If Justin Fields is still on the board at four the Atlanta Falcons should avoid picking him. Even if the 49ers do not draft Trey Lance or Mac Jones the Atlanta Falcons should avoid taking a quarterback altogether.

Fans really want Justin Fields because he is athletic and used to play for Georgia and they are willing to ignore some of the red flags that come along with Fields – most notably his admittance to not prepare for every opponent the same.

The Falcons will have attended both of Fields Pro-Days this offseason, so some seem to think there is a lot of interest with the young gunslinger when in reality, the front office and coaching staff are doing what any good franchise does – their homework.

The Atlanta Falcons would be foolish to take him because you are wasting Matt Ryan’s and Fields’ time by drafting them.

One of the main reasons young quarterbacks can have a lot of success early on is the rookie contracts. Plenty of teams have been able to load up their team with their quarterback still on their rookie deal.

If the Falcons took one the rookie might only have one or two years on the rookie contract which would be a short window to load up and make a Super Bowl run before they would have to give him an elite quarterback contract – which would put this franchise right back in the same situation.