NFL Draft Rumor: Falcons will be ‘aggressive,’ may move into top 5

With the NFL draft only a few days away, the NFL is officially in rumor overload. This is a world of pure chaos. Also a world of consistency as the Falcons are nearly always rumored to be looking at trading up.

Since the Falcons made the blockbuster trade for Julio Jones, Thomas Dimitroff has always been rumored to be wanting to trade up. Those rumors may be accurate, and he has had made some smaller trades in the years since, including for Desmond Trufant and Takkarist McKinley.

Now, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen passes along rumors that the Falcons are looking to move up.

Way up.

The rumor does not include a player, but other rumors indicate the Falcons want to trade up for a corner. Mort only notes that the Falcons should be looking at defense, which could include a few of the draft’s top defensive linemen and linebackers. A trade into the top 5 should get Atlanta the best corner in the draft, believed to be Jeff Okudah, but also puts the team in striking distance of Chase Young and Isaiah Simmons. Such a trade would guarantee C.J. Henderson but it is unclear if he is in any danger of being selected so early.

We saw similar rumors persist through all of 2019, with the exception of targets being defensive tackles, only to see the Falcons both stay put and select two offensive linemen in the first round.

In both years, there were rumors of multiple teams with early picks desperate to trade down. Last year, it did not happen. We are still a few days away from finding out if the Falcons are able to make it happen this season.