Atlanta Falcons should consider moving up for Kayvon Thibodeaux

What direction the Atlanta Falcons will go with their first-round pick in tonight’s draft is anyone’s best guess. It seems certain that Aidan Hutchinson and Travon Walker will be off the board. Outside of these two prospects, it seems any of the projected top ten players could fall Atlanta’s way.

This includes top rushing prospect Kayvon Thibodeaux who at one time seemed to be one of the options for the first player off the board. If mock drafts and the myriad of draft day rumors are any indications it seems Kayvon is headed in the wrong direction.

This could open the door for Atlanta to move up for Thibodeaux who fits the exact skill set the team needs the most. Kayvon at his best is an elite pass rusher who has a chance to be a 10+ sack guy every season for his team at the next level.

Atlanta is desperate for a pass rush and if Kayvon is still on the board a couple of picks in front of them moving up should be an option for the Falcons.

Atlanta’s three clear targets with their first-round selection should be Kayvon, Malik Willis, or Kyle Hamilton. All three players have the ability to fix roster issues long-term and push the rebuild in the right direction.

While the quarterback position is obviously the most important Atlanta’s lack of pass rush over the last two years has been glaring. T.J. Watt amassed more sacks individually last season than Atlanta did as a team. This speaks to both the greatness of Watt and the pure lack of pass rushers on Atlanta’s roster.

Opposing quarterbacks seemed to have an endless amount of time in the pocket waiting for the secondary to break or scrambling out of the pocket for yardage. All this to say if Atlanta has a reasonable trade on the table that will allow them to move up for Kayvon they shouldn’t hesitate. He is that talented and would have that big of an impact on a team absolutely desperate for a pass rush.