Why the Falcons should sign AND draft a starting-caliber quarterback

John Madden once said, "If you have two quarterbacks, you have none." It makes sense since only one quarterback can start on Sundays.

However, the Atlanta Falcons should, respectfully, disregard Madden's quote by signing and drafting a starting-caliber quarterback. This would give them a short-term and long-term answer at a position they cannot strike out on again.

Falcons should find a quarterback in free agency and the draft

Free agency is approaching fast and the Atlanta Falcons should be gearing up to be aggressive when trying to find their next quarterback. On the market, there will likely be two starting-caliber quarterbacks available—Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson.

Then you look to the draft and it is projected that at least five quarterbacks will be taken in the first round. In other words: this is a loaded quarterback draft class.

This has spawned a debate on whether the Falcons should sign one in March or draft one in April. Again, this makes sense because only one player can start at QB, however, the Falcons have afforded themselves the ability to take two swings when trying to fill the most important position.

They should look to sign Russell Wilson—who could sign for league minimum—and draft a quarterback in the first round—whether they trade up, stay put, or trade back a few spots.

This way they have a win-now option with the Super Bowl-winning Wilson and a rookie who can develop into their long-term starter.

This will hopefully be the last time the Falcons "earn" a top-ten pick in a while; they must take advantage of their positioning by drafting a quarterback. If they don't, they could risk losing the opportunity to land a post-Wilson (or Cousins) option.

If they don't get it right this year, they could doom themselves for next year since next year's QB class looks weak.

While it would be amazing to sign a win-now veteran and draft a talented player at another position, this is a position the Falcons have to get right. They cannot afford to have another 2023 situation.