Players the Atlanta Falcons passed on for Marlon Davidson in 2020 draft

Well, former second-round pick Marlon Davidson’s career with the Atlanta Falcons was very anti-climatic, not much else you can say, as he was cut just two years after being drafted.

It is sad to see such a talented defensive lineman struggle with injuries and overall ineffectiveness with a team that had high hopes for him. Nothing explains his career more than the fact that he has as many touchdowns as he does sacks in the NFL.

Since he was the 47th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, you know that there are great players that Thomas Dimitroff skipped on to take Davidson, so let’s take a look at some of those players.

The Atlanta Falcons could look a lot different if they had hindsight in the 2020 NFL Draft

Every NFL team wishes they could see into the future when they make their draft picks, but that would take a lot of the fun out of the NFL. Let’s take a look at some of the notable players the Atlanta Falcons could have drafted in 2020 with the 47th pick. On a side note, the Falcons did nail their first-round pick, which is what you want first of foremost in every draft.

This will only include players that were taken between the Falcons’ 47th pick and their following pick which was in the third round when they took Matt Hennessy with the 78th overall pick.

• WR Chase Claypool (Steelers, 49th overall)
• CB Jaylon Johnson (Bears, 50th overall)
• CB Trevon Diggs (Cowboys, 51st overall)
• QB Jalen Hurts (Eagles, 53rd overall)
• OG Ezra Cleveland (Vikings, 58th overall)
• RB A.J. Dillon (Packers, 62nd overall)
• LB Logan Wilson (Bengals, 65th overall)
• RB Antonio Gibson (Commanders, 66th overall)
• OG Jonah Jackson (Lions, 75th overall)

There are clearly a couple of those that hurt more than the rest, those being Jalen Hurts and Trevon Diggs.

First, Jalen Hurts has done what Marlon Davidson failed to do during his career — stay healthy and improve each year. Obviously, the best ability is availability, which is what killed Marlon in Atlanta but he also struggled to show any improvements while on the field, meanwhile, Jalen Hurst has gone from a strong runner and inconsistent passer to a strong runner and an excellent passer.

Jalen Hurts is helping the Philadelphia Eagles separate themselves from every other NFC team. He is also one of the top MVP candidates so far this year. It would have been fun to see him in Arthur Smith’s offense.

As for Trevon Diggs, you probably know most of the story by now, people were drooling over him last year because of his interception numbers while ignoring the fact that he gave up a truckload of yards. This year, he has been more consistent as a coverage man but still not elite. However, it would be nice to have him in the secondary, opposite of A.J. Terrell, to be that ball hawk.

Many people might glance over his name but it would be a lot of fun to see running back A.J. Dillon in a Falcons uniform with Arthur Smith calling plays. He runs with similar violence as Derrick Henry who Smith called plays for a couple years back with the Titans. Not saying he is Henry, because he isn’t, but having a tank like him in the backfield would be entertaining.