Why the Falcons will still land Lamar Jackson this offseason

If you were on the side of the fanbase who wanted Lamar Jackson to be the newest Atlanta Falcons quarterback, then Tuesday was a disappointing day for you. There were about 15 minutes where there was hope but then it was dashed by many NFL insiders.

Right now it seems like the hopes of the Falcons landing Lamar are all but washed away, but that isn’t necessarily true as the Falcons might be taking the risky, long-term approach with the star quarterback.

The Falcons might be waiting until after the NFL draft to offer Lamar Jackson a contract

The non-exclusive franchise tag was placed on Lamar Jackson on Tuesday which means any team is allowed to offer him a contract and if the Ravens decline to match it, then Lamar will be on the move and the Ravens will land two first-round picks. While it seems like a good idea for the Falcons to make an offer, apparently, the front office has a different idea—at least for now.

The Falcons hold the eighth-overall pick and as we all know, any top-ten pick in the NFL Draft is gold. Teams want their shot at one of the ten best players in the draft and the Falcons aren’t likely to just throw that pick away, even if it is for a former MVP quarterback.

Also Read: A Lamar Jackson contract would not “ruin” the Falcons’ future.

So, their other option is to wait until after April’s draft to make an offer. This would save them the eighth-overall pick as they would then give up 2024 and 2025’s first-round picks (assuming they don’t land an extra first-round selection before then).

One can only assume that a Lamar-led Falcons team would not be drafting in the top ten, therefore, their next first-round pick will not have as much value as this years.

It isn’t unreasonable to think that Lamar Jackson can lead the Falcons to the playoffs, meaning their next first-round pick would be anywhere from 19th overall to 32nd overall. I don’t think you need me to tell you that those picks are much less valuable.

It is also worth noting that if the Falcons elect to trade away next year’s first-round pick before then, they will immediately become ineligible to offer Lamar a contract. This is the situation the Dolphins are currently in. They forfeited their first rounder this year due to tampering, therefore, they aren’t allowed to make an offer until after the draft.

This seems like a smart plan but it would take some guts if they are actually committed to landing Lamar. It is hard to believe that no team will offer him a contract between now and the end of April and it isn’t like the Falcons would be the only team with this idea. But if they do pull this off then they should get a ton of credit. Not only will we have Lamar Jackson, but we will also have a top-ten player in the draft.

The funny thing about all of this is that the Ravens couldn’t do a single thing about it if this is their plan.