The prospect of the Falcons trading draft picks in an effort to move up or down has come up here a few times. We're not treading upon virgin ground, here.
Nonetheless, after Thomas Dimitroff's coy talk with the press the other day, I thought it was worth re-visiting whether the Falcons will consider trading up in this draft.
In his usual way, Thomas Dimitroff does not dismiss any possibility. I'm convinced that if some enterprising reporter asked him if they would consider drafting a talking alligator as a placekicker, he'd nod, look thoughtful and say "It's certainly something we'll explore."
What's interesting about his remarks, however, is that he repeatedly references a handful of players at a few positions that the Falcons are looking at for #55. If that's the case, the Falcons can probably get someone they value at the spot, and if by some chance everyone's gone, they can flip the pick to move down. Moving up would therefore seem unlikely, unless a standout player falls a long way.
Ditto the third round, where the talent figures to still be plenty deep. This is an extremely top-heavy draft in terms of elite talent, but there's quality available for a long way down. I just don't see the Falcons sacrificing even more draft picks when they can almost certainly get somebody they like in those rounds.
The title is slightly misleading. It's not that I can't see the Falcons trading up at all, and in fact I'd be surprised if they didn't move around a little in the later rounds. But I can't see them moving up early. They're much more likely to flip their couple of sixth and seventh rounders to move up for a must-have prospect late.
Your thoughts?