Atlanta Falcons were 1 of only 2 teams in 2020 draft to do this

Looking back on the 2020 NFL Draft it is blatantly obvious that it was an offensive-heavy draft class as the Atlanta Falcons were one of just two teams to get an elite defender in the first round.

Go check it out because it really is crazy just how many more offensive stars came out of the first round compared to defensive stars.

Atlanta and Washington are the only teams to select a star defensive player in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Falcons had a breakout star in A.J. Terrell last season and he beat the trend that has taken over the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

A.J. Terrell and Chase Young are the only two players who have turned out for their teams so far and while it is early, it seems like these two will be far and away the best two defenders from the first round.

Just look at the other defensive players that were taken:

• Pick 3: Jeff Okudah CB
• Pick 7: Derrick Brown DT
• Pick 8: Isaiah Simmons LB
• Pick 9: C.J. Henderson CB
• Pick 14: Javon Kinlaw DT
• Pick 19: Damon Arnette CB
• Pick 23: Kenneth Murray LB
• Pick 27: Jordyn Brooks LB
• Pick 28: Patrick Queen LB
• Pick 30: Noah Igbinoghene CB
• Pick 31: Jeff Gladney CB

Not a single one of those guys has turned out to be the player they were drafted to be.

Remember when they said that the Falcons were “reaching” when they took A.J. Terrell? Yeah, those days are well over as the Lions wish that they could go back and select A.J. instead of the “can’t miss” cornerback out of Ohio State. Not to mention, the Jaguars who took C.J. Henderson.

The Raiders had a disaster of a first round as they first took Henry Ruggs followed by Damon Arnette, and here we are two years later where neither of them is even on an NFL roster.

You can even make the argument that the Falcons ended up with the best defender in the draft as Chase Young has been great but only managed one-and-a-half sacks before he tore his ACL in week ten last season.

So, while the previous regime’s time in Atlanta did not end in a positive way, we can thank them for the selection of A.J. Terrell as they were one of two teams who selected an impactful defender in the first round.