Peter King: Falcons will not draft Todd Gurley

Thanks to Todd Gurley's rising draft stock, some well-timed mock drafts and perhaps a smidgen of Georgia-based homerism, more than a few Falcons fans have been pushing the team to take the dynamic rookie running back with their eighth overall pick. Sports Illustrated's Peter King has a strong statement for those holding on to the hope that Gurley will wind up in Atlanta.

RT @B_ELLIS24: hearing more and more rumblings about Gurley to the Falcons at #8. your thoughts? … That will not happen. Book it.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) April 27, 2015

As awesome as it would be to see arguably the draft's top back—and a local player, in case I forgot to mention that—wind up in Atlanta, the team simply can't invest a top ten at the position. This is a deep class, for one thing, with both Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn taking some time during their Friday presser to talk up backs in the middle rounds. There's also the small matter that this Falcons team has major holes at left guard, tight end, pass rusher, free safety and a host of other positions, and would have added pressure to nail the rest of their draft class if they went with Gurley at #8.

King likely has information that leads him to be extra confident about the Falcons' pick, but there's an element of common sense here, I'd argue. It was never realistic to expect the Falcons to draft him, but I certainly hope Gurley doesn't wind up in the NFC South. Look for this Falcons team to concentrate on one of its glaring needs with their first round pick, and look for Gurley to land with another team either within or just outside the top ten.