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There’s something unseemly and unwise about imagining who the Falcons might draft with three games left on the slate, but we really don’t have much else to look forward to, and the Falcons keep making this top of mind.
With their loss against the Packers and the Raiders and 49ers winning, the Falcons are sitting pretty at the moment with the fourth pick in the NFL Draft. If they manage to lose to the Cardinals—a real, alarming possibility—they could move up higher next week. If they lose all three of their final games and the 49ers and Raiders continue to play like not garbage, the Falcons could actually wind up with the #1 pick in the NFL Draft. With a franchise QB already in house, no less.
NFL Draft order after 14 weeks:
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) December 10, 2018
1) #49ers
2) #Cardinals
3) #Raiders
4) #Falcons
5) #Jets
6) #Bills
7) #Jaguars
8) #Bucs
9) #Giants
10) #Lions
The Falcons would have their pick of the litter at #1, but even at #4, they’re likely to be in the running for top edge rushers Nick Bosa (Ohio State) and Clellin Ferrell (Clemson), a top tackle like Alabama’s Jonah Williams or Kansas State’s Dalton Risner, or stud interior defensive linemen like Ed Oliver (Houston) or Quinnen Williams (Alabama). It’s the chance to add a potentially elite talent to one of the lines, and both would benefit hugely from that addition.
There’s many ways the Falcons can screw this up—chiefly by winning—but they’re going to have a chance to land an impact player one way or the other. That’s a cheery thought in a season increasingly devoid of them.