2016 NFL mock draft: The Falcons go linebacker a year from now

I'm sure some of you are going to vomit at the mere thought of a 2016 mock draft, so we'll keep this brief. SB Nation's draft guru Dan Kadar has taken a look at who might be available a year from now and awarded the Falcons a promising linebacker out of Notre Dame.

If things unfolded this way—and they won't, given how early this is—Smith would seem to be a nice pick. He's a fast, disruptive presence at linebacker who could fit in nicely in the Falcons' corps. The team did sign Brooks Reed and Justin Durant and are clearly stronger at the position than they were a year ago, but they lack elite upside and young, athletic defenders unless a guy like Prince Shembo takes a major step forward this season. In this hypothetical world, I'd take that pick.

I'm willing to bet the Falcons won't be in a position to pick seventh a year from now, because the roster appears improved enough to at least get them out of the top ten.

Now that we've addressed this future mock, let us not speak of the 2016 draft again until January or later.