ESPN projects Falcons to draft Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner

Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot is entering his fourth draft since replacing Thomas Dimitroff in 2021, and for the fourth straight year, Atlanta feels like the biggest wildcard in the top 10. Will the team move up for a quarterback or stay at pick No. 8 and take the best player available?

The Falcons could also trade for Bears QB Justin Fields, sign Kirk Cousins in free agency, or simply draft Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy with the eighth overall pick. Not even ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper can seem to predict what Atlanta will do in the first round.

Kiper released his second official mock draft on Wednesday and started by calling the Falcons the “most interesting team” of the 2024 offseason:

The Falcons are the most interesting team this offseason with regard to the quarterback position. The decision will define new coach Raheem Morris’ tenure, because the franchise has the skill-position talent to immediately compete in the NFC South. The problem here is I’m not ready to move J.J. McCarthy (Michigan) into the top 10, so Atlanta would either have to trade up — sacrificing much-needed draft capital — or reach a little bit for McCarthy or Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), who has a second-round grade in my rankings. This team might be better served using a significant chunk of its cap space on Kirk Cousins.

Kiper was reluctant to project a QB to Atlanta at No. 8 because he feels it’s just a touch early for McCarthy. Ultimately, he has the Falcons taking Alabama’s highly touted edge prospect, Dallas Turner, with the eighth overall pick:

So I’ll stick with the top edge rusher in the class to the Falcons, who ranked 32nd in pass rush win rate (30.9%) last season. Turner had 10 sacks last season, taking his game to a new level as the Crimson Tide’s top defender. He has a really high ceiling. – Mel Kiper, ESPN

In our latest seven-round Falcons mock draft, we have the team trading for Fields and using the No. 8 pick on Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze. However, Turner would make sense for Atlanta, especially if the team can add a starting-caliber wide receiver in free agency.

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