2018 NFL Draft: Virginia QB Kurt Benkert, Temple DE Jake Martin visit Falcons

A draft visit for you! A draft visit for you! A draft visit for you, and you, and you!

The Atlanta Falcons are hosting a ton of intriguing prospects, and two more have joined the list.

So, Virginia QB Kurt Benkert and Temple DE Jake Martin are the two newest guys we know that have stopped by Flowery Branch to meet with the team.

Benkert is kind of like Tanner Lee, if a bit more polished and ready for immediate responsibilities. NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein believes the QB to be a late-round prospect.

Gunslinger who holsters an NFL-caliber right arm, but needs to work on his marksmanship and decision making. Benkert’s completion totals are disappointing on intermediate throws, deep throws, and against the blitz. He has the arm talent to make all the throws but hasn’t shown signs of becoming accurate enough to ever been anything more than a backup at best.

As for Martin, Zierlein lists him as one of his seven draft sleepers.

There wasn’t much in the production column for Martin over his first three seasons at Temple, but he broke through in 2017, recording 11.5 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. Martin has similar size and testing numbers to former Owl and 2017 first-round pick Haason Reddick. Martin plays with good upfield burst as a rusher and has a better rush plan than expected. He’s an urgent player who might have the ability to transition into a 4-3 linebacker role with the potential to rush off the edge in sub packages.

He’s also, per Zierlein, projected to be a later-round pick.

Ramifications? Well, Benkert would likely either vie for a practice squad spot, or be stashed on the roster as the QB3, and Martin would likely compete for one of the rotational roles in the edge group, along with J.T. Jones. Both could be one of the team’s sixth or seventh round picks (the team has two of the latter).

So, more Falcon-y draft news for you. More to come as time goes on. We’re getting closer to draft weekend. Prepare yourself!

(h/t to Aaron Freeman for the Martin news)