NFL Network host Peter Schrager sends speedy rusher to Falcons in first mock draft

Mock draft season is upon us, with many, many, many simulations aflutter as to how the 2020 NFL Draft might go.

We’re entering draft month right now (unless the NFL eventually decides to move it, a move that looks unlikely at the moment), and teams are going to have to hunker down to analyze their prospects without a lot of in-person meeting and workout potential.

And the mocks will keep mocking until they cannot be mocked anymore.

One of the more reliable series of mock drafts that comes out this time of year can be found with NFL Network’s Good Morning Football host Peter Schrager.

He’s not quite a recognized insider like Adam Schefter or Ian Rapoport, but he does have a good knowledge of what’s going on in the league and is putting forth one of the more informed mock drafts out there. He’s worth listening to, at the least.

In his first 2020 edition, he’s sending the Falcons a very realistic candidate at Pick 16: LSU LB K’Lavon Chaisson.

The Falcons loaded up on former first-round picks in free agency — Todd Gurley (No. 10 in 2015) and Hayden Hurst (No. 25 in 2018) should make immediate impacts on the offense. The defense could still use a pass rusher. Chaisson is raw and didn’t compete in field drills at the combine, but could be a stud pass rusher at the next level.

The move would bolster the Falcons pass rush with the standard Dan Quinn defensive end, one with tremendous first-step speed and a high motor. Adding Dante Fowler and Chaisson to the pass rushing mix would be quite a change to that group, and it could pay off in dividends. In the NFC South, it’ll be needed to contend for the division.

Speaking of the NFC South, Schrager sends versatile LB/S Isaiah Simmons to the Panthers as a building block for its revamping defense, Georgia tackle Andrew Thomas to the Buccaneers and Baylor receiver Denzel Mims to the Saints.

Chaisson feels like a legitimate candidate for the Falcons if he’s there at 16. With the lack of ability to do a lot of Pro Days, in-house visits and in-person private workouts, the team will have to lean on tape, the combine and whatever other evaluations they can get done before the NFL Draft arrives.

Chaisson is relatively safe, if only because you know what you’re getting, you know he should have a relatively short adjustment period to the NFL and you know he fits what you want to do.

It’s a legitimate option for the team, but just one of a good bunch who could be Falcons before this is all said and done.