Throughout the off-season, The Falcoholic will point out free agents that its writers believe are good fits for the Falcons. Today, Carl Nicks.
What do you need to know about Carl Nicks, you might ask? Only three things, really.
- He played for the Saints.
- He was Pro Football Focus's second-best guard in 2011.
- He's just 27 years old.
Add that up and you get a guy the Falcons would probably love to steal, albeit one who won't come cheap. The Falcons struggled to find a right guard to start all year, losing Mike Johnson in the pre-season, starting Garrett Reynolds and then dumping him, starting Joe Hawley and kinda settling in with him but then turning to Sam Baker before going back to Hawley. When you consider that Hawley is a natural center and Todd McClure may not be returning, it makes sense to go get a guard.
You couldn't really do better than Nicks, and you'd take away one of the Saints' best linemen in the process. Nicks is an elite pass blocker and a plenty capable run blocker, and he's pretty mobile for a big guy. If you wanted to move him to left guard, you could (assuming the Falcons would/Blalock would agree) move Justin Blalock to right guard and have a fantastic tandem. Either way, he'd provide an immediate upgrade on the line, and that's something the team has mentioned as a priority.