With the Kansas City Chiefs on top of the world for the second consecutive year, the focus of all 32 teams is now on the 2025 Super Bowl, which will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana. How poetic would it be if the Falcons could somehow find their way through the NFC to play in the house of their most hated rivals for a shot at their first Super Bowl?
It may sound far-fetched today, but the NFC is wide open, and the Falcons are one of those teams that could experience an exponential rise in just one offseason if they can figure out the quarterback position. In Trevor Sikkema’s first postseason mock draft, he has Atlanta doing that in a trade with Justin Fields, sending a second and third-round pick to the Bears for the Harrison High School product. This allows for the Falcons to stand pat at eight and take the best pass rusher left on the board in Alabama’s Dallas Turner.
- Bears receive:Â A 2024 third-round pick (No. 74), a 2025 third-round pick
- Falcons receive:Justin Fields
The Falcons will be one of a handful of teams that will try to get aggressive to move up for one of the top quarterbacks in this draft. But such a trade will be done before we get to draft weekend.
If they miss out on that chance, Fields remains a solid option. Some might think this price is too low, but I believe the hype and price of a top-50 (or even first-round pick) out there is more fan-driven than league-driven.
If they already have a quarterback option in hand, look for Raheem Morris to get his defense a premier athletic pass-rusher. Turner isn’t the polished prospect Will Anderson Jr. was coming out last year, but his speed and flexibility are the best in this class.
Two third-round picks for a potential franchise quarterback is a bargain, but I’m hesitant in believing that’s all it is going to take to land Justin Fields. There are a plethora of teams in desperate need of a quarterback, and Fields provides the most potential upside of anyone not in the draft. It’s a gamble, but the Falcons might not have much of a choice if the top three quarterbacks are taken off the board with the first three picks.
If Fields is the direction the Falcons go, landing the top EDGE in the draft seems like a logical selection. The pass rush has been a problem in Atlanta for over a decade, and that’s not going to change if the Falcons don’t add several bodies this offseason. Dallas Turner would be an ideal start, but he alone is not enough to fix the problem.
With their second-round pick, Sikkema has the Falcons sticking with defense and taking safety Tyler Nubin out of Minnesota. Nubin’s a physical safety that embraces contact. Unfortunately, things have not worked out like the Falcons had hoped with 2021 second-round selection Richie Grant, who lost his job at the end of last season to 2023 seventh-round pick DeMarcco Hellams. The position could stand to be upgraded this offseason, and Nubin would serve as a nice complement to All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III.
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Photographer: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire
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