We don’t know who the Falcons coveted but we have our
guesses." for Hong Kong Tourism BoardRumors for months suggested the Falcons
would trade up to try to nab defensive tackle Ed Oliver. That didn’t happen
despite his unexpected fall but the Falcons did attempt trading up after Oliver
was drafted. The perma-plugged-in Peter King had the play-by-play when the
Denver Broncos went on the clock at 10th overall on Thursday night.The Steelers
got uncharacteristically aggressive by trading their
1st
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linebacker Devin Bush. The Giants ended up drafting Dexter Lawrence at 17. Per
King, the Falcons weren’t even in second place in bidding for pick 10. Assuming
eventual 14th overall pick Chris Lindstrom was the team’s backup pick, Atlanta
wanted to draft either Devin Bush, 11th overall pick Jonah Williams, 12th
overall pick Rashan Gary, or 13th overall pick Christian Wilkins. There were
rumors days before the draft the Falcons were interested in Christian Wilkins,
and a rumor
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trading up for Devin Bush. Williams was the top ranked offensive lineman and had
experience at right tackle and guard. All three would make sense but my guess is
Christian Wilkins. After missing out on the top two defensive tackles in the
draft, Atlanta had a chance at the last elite(ish) prospect in Wilkins. A short
trade up would make sense if the Falcons planned on a more balanced draft with
one new starter on each line. The trade did not go through so the Falcons
focused heavily on the offensive line. It is a little unconventional but it’s
too early to know if it works out. With that said, assuming the prospect was
either a defensive lineman or linebacker, look for the Falcons to continue
looking at veterans and trade options. Falcons’ head coach Dan Quinn gave us
some insight into the team’s thoughts on Jack Crawford’s excellent 2018 season
and Atlanta’s plans for the DT position heading into the 2019 NFL Draft."The
2019 NFL Draft is only two weeks away, and the rumor mill is starting to heat up
around many NFL teams. One of the biggest questions surrounding the Falcons has
been whether they’re going to try to trade up for DT Ed Oliver or stand pat at
14. With Atlanta looking into free agent DTs like Tyeler Davison and Ra’shede
Hageman, there’s been some speculation that the team may be planning to go in a
different direction. It’s also entirely possible that the Falcons are just doing
due diligence on available free agents if they don’t get their guy in the
draft.We were able to dig up an intriguing interview with Dan Quinn from the
NFL’s spring meetings a few weeks back. In it, he sheds a little more light on
the team’s plans at
DT
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rotation.First off, Quinn was effusive in his praise for DT Jack
Crawford.Crawford had a very impressive year coming off a season-ending injury
in 2017. He was one of the most effective pass rushers on the team, regardless
of position. Although Crawford was initially signed as an EDGE, Quinn made it
clear that he would be playing most of his snaps as an inside rusher. Per Quinn,
Crawford is going to continue to play the majority of his snaps on the
inside.Quinn was also asked about the Falcons’ plans to address the defensive
line in the 2019 NFL Draft. Quinn was, of course, rather vague about
everything—but he did give us some interesting tidbits.There are few noteworthy
pieces of information here. First, Quinn seems to view three DTs and three EDGEs
as being
“safe”
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for 2019. At EDGE, that’s obvious because there are only three players on the
roster: Vic Beasley, Takkarist McKinley, and Steven Means. At DT, we have to
believe Quinn is referring to Grady Jarrett, Jack Crawford, and Deadrin Senat.
Atlanta also has a few other DTs on the roster in Michael Bennett, Justin
Zimmer
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thought of as favorites to make the roster—particularly with Atlanta sniffing
around other FA DTs this week.Second, Quinn talks about having eight or nine DL
“who are able to go”. That could mean they plan to keep eight or nine on the
53-man roster, which would be pretty standard for NFL teams. We’ve also seen
that the Falcons are willing to keep 10 DL, with one of them generally a gameday
inactive. This could be a clue that Atlanta is planning to slim down the
rotation slightly, or it could just be coach-speak.Third, Quinn makes it clear
that more additions to the defensive line are forthcoming. Which is pretty
obvious when you realize that the team only has three EDGE players on the roster
currently. He doesn’t reveal any priorities as far as positions, and even says
that some additions may continue to come through free agency. But based on these
comments and the Falcons’ prospect
visits
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at adding to the DL in the early rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft.What are your
thoughts on Quinn’s comments? How impressed were you with Crawford’s play on the
interior? Is EDGE or DT a bigger need for the Falcons heading into the 2019 NFL
Draft?
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