The draft passes without a Falcons trade for first time in Dimitroff era

The Atlanta Falcons’ pot of trade rumors began to boil over this week, with rumblings that they were angling for a hop up into the top 10 of the first round and would be seeking to leap up the board on day 2. Neither of those rumors came to fruition, and in fact, this was the first time since Dimitroff joined the franchise in 2008 that the Falcons did not orchestrate a trade during the draft.

Talk about a head fake.

The Falcons held fast throughout the entire 2020 NFL Draft, snagging cornerback A.J. Terrell at No. 16 in the first round. Day 2 saw the additions of defensive tackle Marlon Davidson at No. 47 and center Matt Hennessy at No. 78. On the draft’s final day Atlanta took linebacker Mykal Walker at No. 119, safety Jaylinn Hawkins at No. 134 and punter Sterling Hofrichter at No. 228.

Since signing on with Atlanta in 2008, Dimitroff has pulled off 17 draft trades, including the franchise-defining move for Julio Jones in 2011. Year 12 is when he finally broke with his trend of dealing during the draft.

For all of the smoke, the Falcons finally switched gears from their traditional modus operandi during the draft under Thomas Dimitroff, electing to sit pat and grab their guys without sacrificing picks.

They say that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and in the end the Atlanta Falcons acquired their entire draft class without Trader Thomas making a deal.