During his tenure in Atlanta, Thomas Dimitroff has been notorious for trading up in the NFL Draft to get his guy. Now, with his job on the line, it seems like he is considering a different approach.
In an interview on the Midday Show with Andy and Randy on 92.9 The Game, on Friday, Dimitroff revealed his thinking as he enters the NFL Draft. Here is an excerpt from the radio show from the AJC:
“I think that’s something that we always consider. But I think with this draft … I think there is going to be a lot of interesting action between 10 and 20. Again, I’d would never count us out because, yeah, we are a team that has been active. With that said, this may be one of those draft situations, it does set up an opportunity to potentially move back. As long as I’ve been here, we’ve not been a really active team moving back. But again, this year, may be one of those years where you can truly look at that and acquire a couple more picks in different parts of the draft to used to pair together to get up in another round.”
This makes sense on some levels, and on others, it doesn’t. I have been a huge proponent on Atlanta moving back in this Draft to add more depth as a unit. The Falcons are in a tight cap situation, so the more players on rookie deals, frankly, the better. The Falcons also have no compensatory picks this season, so adding picks could go a long way on a team with many needs, such as pass rusher, running back, guard, cornerback, defensive tackle or linebacker. Ideally, I would like to see them bring in a ten-man draft class.
While the reality is when you have more picks you can always trade up later in the Draft with the capital you have accumulated, I think this is almost counterproductive. The Falcons need to try to bring in as many cheap bodies as possible this offseason. Sure, if it is a guy you think will make or break your season, go for it, but I simply don’t think this is the proper thinking as the Draft nears closer. With two second-rounders, the Falcons could find themselves in a situation where they could have two first-round picks. I am just not sure any two first-round picks can fix the plethora of needs Atlanta has to address.
Nevertheless, it is good to see Dimitroff considering trading back, instead of throwing in all his chips to trade up, given the circumstances. If Atlanta can still draft at some point in the first round, with two seconds and add a handful of added mid-round picks, it could go a long way in retooling this team from the bottom up and returning to contention in the NFC South.
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