Mock draft has Falcons pulling off blockbuster Lamar Jackson trade

With the Atlanta Falcons having a semi-uncertain future at the quarterback position and the fact Baltimore Ravens have not paid Lamar Jackson yet, it has brought up a link between the two sides and if the Falcons would pursue the polarizing quarterback in the offseason.

Well, Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network has confidence—that stems from last year’s pursuit of Deshaun Watson—that Terry Fontenot and the Falcons would be willing to pay the price for the former MVP.

The Draft Network has the Falcons trading for Lamar Jackson in recent mock draft

An NFL offseason can definitely bring some stunning twists and the Falcons trading for Lamar Jackson would be one for the ages.

The Draft Network has the Falcons trading their seventh-overall pick—although they could pick higher or lower depending on week 18 outcomes—their second and fourth-round picks, and their 2024 and 2025 first-round picks for Lamar Jackson.

Lamar is a pending free agent, so this trade would likely be a franchise tag-and-trade scenario where Atlanta already has an extension in place for their new quarterback because that is a lot to give up for a player who isn’t locked up for more than one season.

They then had the Ravens using the seventh-overall pick on Myles Murphy, an edge rusher out of Clemson.

For me, there is one big issue with this trade. If the Ravens are looking to trade Lamar, that means they weren’t able to sign him to an extension and he made it clear he wouldn’t play under the franchise tag, and that sounds like a lack of leverage on Baltimore’s side. Giving up a top-ten pick, two more first-round picks, a second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick to a team with a lack of leverage, seems like a little much.

Sure, he is a ridiculous talent but if the Ravens were caught in that position, then the Falcons could likely get away with a lowball offer. If the Ravens were in that situation then they would rather have something rather than nothing.

I say that, but then again, the Browns (and the Falcons, for that matter) were willing to give up a boatload of picks for a player who stated he wouldn’t play another snap with his current team ever again and was in legal trouble that was bound to draw a suspension.

So, maybe, just maybe, the Atlanta Falcons would be willing to give up that much for a player that has the athletic talent of Michael Vick. Nostalgia at its best.