Atlanta Falcons: Justin Fields starting to trend as NFL Draft inches closer

The Atlanta Falcons have a franchise-altering decision to make next week when they are on the clock with the No. 4 overall pick.

The Falcons can do one of three things, all of which have been discussed ad nauseum by this point:

1. Select a QB to sit behind Matt Ryan for the future
2. Select the best non-QB player
3. Trade back and gain more draft capital

Depending on who you talk to, you might get three different pictures painted as to what the Falcons are truly leaning towards doing.

While no one will truly know until Thursday, many are beginning to peg QB Justin Fields as the pick for the Atlanta Falcons

Over the course of this winter and into the spring, we’ve seen hundreds of mock drafts that have the Falcons doing anything from trading back to selecting a quarterback to selecting a player like TE Kyle Pitts or OT Penei Sewell.

The truth is that analysts haven’t been able to gain a good grasp on what the Atlanta Falcons are going to do with their No. 4 overall pick because the Falcons have been smoke-screening their decision as good as any franchise has done in recent history.

That being said, a few of the more recent mock drafts have begun to paint a picture that Justin Fields might end up as the pick.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter pegged Fields as the pick in his latest mock draft.

"“With Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Mac Jones going 1-2-3, the best player left on the board arguably is Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, but because teams overvalue the quarterback position, the Falcons will take former Ohio State/Georgia and Harrison High quarterback Justin Fields,” Ledbetter said."

In just the last week, we’ve also seen mock drafts from NFL.com, The Falcoholic and CBS Sports peg Fields to the Falcons as a likely destination.

In my opinion, I still think the Falcons don’t go quarterback with this pick. There’s been talk of a trade- especially with the Denver Broncos- and I think you could see Atlanta go that route or select Pitts or Sewell.

That being said, you can’t deny that it’s still a possibility for the Falcons to select Fields and many believe it’s much more than a possibility.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out for the Falcons on draft night, but for now we at least have to acknowledge the trend that’s starting to form as we inch closer to the event.