April 19, 2024
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons finally had some money to spend, and they used it to make a big splash in free agency.
Now comes the draft, where the Falcons hope to fill a few more holes and firmly establish themselves as a playoff contender.
Coming off its fifth straight losing season, Atlanta has the No. 8 overall pick and a total of eight selections over the three-day, seven-round draft.
After taking tight end Kyle Pitts and receiver Drake London with top-10 picks the past two years, the focus in this draft is expected to shift to defense.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. took note of that, projecting the Falcons to take Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith at No. 8.
His rationale? “Basically a pass rusher. He can get you eight to 10 sacks a year," Kiper said. “He's a heck of a player. Very smart. Certainly what he ran (at the combine), in the 4.38 range, shows you what kind of athlete he is.”
Edge rushers Myles Murphy of Clemson, Tyree Wilson of Texas Tech and Lukas Van Ness of Iowa are other candidates to go in the eighth slot.
Or, if the Falcons decide to add to the back end of their defense, cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez of Oregon and Devon Witherspoon of Illinois could be in the mix.
After being crippled by a huge amount of dead money the past couple of years, the Falcons finally got to go on a spending spree.
They committed to at least $176 million in guaranteed contracts, which included free-agent signings, trades and re-upping key players such as offensive linemen Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary to multi-year deals.
“We have an identity, and we believe we do have a foundation," general manager Terry Fontenot said. “The thing we really want to focus on when we’re bringing players in is making sure we’re adding to the culture because we have a really strong culture, and we do things a certain way.”
