Trey Hendrickson should be Atlanta Falcons dream trade deadline target

If there was a franchise the Atlanta Falcons could convince to part ways with a franchise pass rusher it would be the Bengals. While it remains far-fetched it is far more likely the Falcons could land Trey Hendrickson over the Cowboys' Micah Parsons or other less probable suggestions. Hendrickson is a long shot but one the Falcons should be actively looking into.

The Bengals are an often poorly run and cheap organization who did the right thing and paid Joe Burrow. However, this came at a cost with the Bengals losing a myriad of key pieces including current Atlanta Falcons' safety Jessie Bates. The idea of the team fumbling away another cornerstone piece isn't as far-fetched as it might seem at first glance.

Trey Hendrickson and Matthew Judon would fix Atlanta Falcons pass rushing woes

It is hard to imagine what this defense coudl accomplish with Judon and Hendrickson both coming off the edge. With the pressure taken off the secondary this defense would have a chance to be among the league's best. Hendrickson is an elite pass rusher with 3.0 sacks already on the season and coming off a 2023 season where he finished with 17.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.

Why this deal could make sense for Cincy, is if the season continues to go as expected. This is a 1-3 team that is unable to stop anyone and perhaps has dug too much of an early hole to crawl out of. If this is the case it is possible the Bengals look to reset and no trade chip is bigger than their star pass rusher.

Bringing us to why this remains extremely unlikely from Atlanta's perspective and that is a lack of cap space. After the additions of Justin Simmons and Matthew Judon Atlanta made moves to open up space but not nearly enough to take on Hendrickson's contract that runs throught the 2025 season.

As great of a hypothetical fit as this is it is difficult to make the math work. The moves needed to be made to open up the needed cap space along with the draft capital it would cost makes this a very difficult move to imagine even if the Bengals are open for business at the trade deadline.

Hendrickson is the perfect hypothetical fit for Atlanta's defensive issues but remains a close to impossible move. As fun as it is to imagine Atlanta having two capable pass rushers it is likely to remain an impossible hypothetical.