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The Falcons wound up with a 34-31 win over the Buffalo Bills, improving to 3-9. That's tied for the second-worst record in the NFL, with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Strength of schedule will make a difference here and at the moment the team is probably slotted for the fourth overall pick or so, but the Falcons are clearly in the driver's seat for a top pick. This is in a year where the consensus best player available is likely to be a quarterback, but that still gives the Falcons the pick of the litter early on or the chance to trade down a bit and still get the player they like. If there's one upside to a hellish season, this is it. It's not like the win crippled the Falcons on the draft front.
@TheFalcoholic http://t.co/FvQ5nX7413 Draft position was unaffected with the win. at worst, Falcons move from 3 back to 4.
— Scott Carasik (@ScottCarasik) December 2, 2013
Strength of schedule will make a difference here, but the Falcons are just outside the top pick conversation at this point. The first pick is likely to be a quarterback if it goes to the Jaguars, Texans, Vikings or even maybe the Buccaneers, so there's a little bit of breathing room here for the Falcons.
The Falcons are likely to target help for the lines with their first couple of picks. They could use some beef up front on offense, but a game-changer like Jadaveon Clowney might prove to be too tempting to pass up. There's enough holes on this team that you can talk yourself into almost anyone.
It's increasingly clear the the Falcons are destined for a top five pick, something they haven't had since the 2008 draft, when they grabbed Matt Ryan and several other future and present starters alongside him. Let's hope the haul is even better in 2014.
Your thoughts on the Falcons being in the running for a top four pick?
