The Atlanta Falcons have a lot riding on the upcoming NFL draft, and while there’s a clear need for an edge rusher, not everyone agrees that the team must find one in the first round.
Pro Football Focus released a new analytics mock draft that doesn’t have the Falcons selecting A.J. Epenesa or K’Lavon Chaisson. Their idea is to focus on positional value and player projections more than team need for each pick. This led to Atlanta selecting Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs.
Read what PFF’s George Chahrouri had to say about the pick below:
The PFFalcons are bound by law to take a coverage player here for the brand to help mitigate some of the risks they’ve felt first-hand over the last few years. There is also the case for an edge rusher here, but Diggs is in the upper tier of cornerbacks with Okudah and Fulton, which is just too valuable to pass up given how poorly the Falcons’ corners performed last season.
Diggs has impressive size and comes from an elite defensive program. In 2019, he recorded 37 tackles (20 solo), three interceptions and defended eight passes for Alabama.
The Falcons still have veteran corner Desmond Trufant under contract and drafted both Isaiah Oliver and Kendall Sheffield over the last two years. If a potential blue-chip player falls into Atlanta’s lap, though, don’t be surprised to see the team hold off on getting its replacement for Vic Beasley.
