Pro Football Focus has released its latest Mock Draft and has the Atlanta Falcons selecting former LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
The reasoning?
“There will be some clamoring for Atlanta to choose a defensive player here,” writes George Chahrouri, “but drafting for need is a peasant move. Draft to win. Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Ja’Marr Chase, Matt Ryan and Arthur Smith, among others, has the potential to form the best offense in the NFL.”
The Falcons can’t run the ball, can’t block anyone, can’t stop anyone. They have a 36 year old quarterback leading the league’s best set of wide receivers.
No. Just. No.
Hopefully for Falcons fans, the days of Thomas Dimitroff building a 7v7 squad ended with his departure. Whether Chase is the mythical best player available at the No. 4 spot is debatable.
That receiver is the position the Falcons need to add is less so.
Julio Jones is still one of the best in the game, poised to etch his name across NFL history books the next two seasons. Calvin Ridley would be a WR1 on most teams in the NFL.
Matt Ryan will be 36 years old and was sacked the fifth most times in the NFL last season.
The list of why the Falcons shouldn’t draft a wide receiver is long and distinguished. The argument for drafting one in the No. 4 spot is, well, short sighted at best.
If the Falcons find themselves in the No. 4 position with all three of the top quarterbacks off the board as PFF suggests, offensive tackle Penei Sewell would be a terrific building block. But we’d advocate for Atlanta to trade down if the right offer comes in.
