A Potential Trade Target For The Falcons: TE Rob Housler

The Falcons have made it abundantly clear that Levine Toilolo is their starting tight end in 2014, but it's less clear whether they're satisfied with what they have behind him. Bear Pascoe is a useful veteran blocking tight end, but the Falcons don't have anyone who appears to have real upside behind him, unless you're a particularly huge fan of rookie Jacob Pedersen or Andrew "Scrabble" Szczerba.

That leads me to believe the Falcons may not be done addressing the position, and with that in mind, I'd like to offer up what I considering to be an intriguing possibility: Arizona's Rob Housler.

The 26-year-old Housler came out of school with 4.46 wheels and plenty of promise, which he's mostly failed to deliver on in Arizona. The team's blocking-heavy tight end roles don't help, but Housler still hasn't played in all 16 games and set career highs last year with 39 catches for 445 yards and a touchdown, all for a middling 11.3 yards per catch.

So why am I interested? Because Housler can catch, he's fast and he's still quite young, but most importantly of all, Arizona may not be his home for much longer. Housler will carry just a $1.6 million cap hit in 2014 and then his contract expires, meaning if you take a shot and it doesn't work out, you simply let him walk. I truly believe that in a system that prizes pass-catching tight ends more than Arizona's, Housler could be a mighty useful player.

If the Falcons can get him for a late round pick, I hope they'll at least consider doing so, though it's fair to wonder whether Housler will get cut with Arizona's current logjam.  Housler would give them a legitimate pass catcher behind Toilolo at a potentially affordable price, and given the team's need for another receiver, it could work out nicely.

Your thoughts?