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The 3-3 Atlanta Falcons might not be Super Bowl contenders, but it might not stop them from at least checking in on what’s going on at the NFL Trade Deadline.
With Atlanta looking like a middle of the pack team at the moment, it’s feasible to wonder if the organization could send a late pick for a player who has fallen out of place elsewhere or who might be available just because they are. They could also elect to deal off pieces of this current roster, but it will likely depend on where they sit in the standings ahead of the deadline.
General manager Terry Fontenot traded for tight end Lee Smith in the offseason, so we at least know he’s willing to make deals if the right player or price becomes available.
Are there any players out there who might fit the bill? We’ve found three that are intriguing, and two Falcons who might be enticing for other teams.
Players to Consider
WFT DT Tim Settle for a conditional 2022 sixth-round pick
Settle could be someone that the Falcons eye in 2022 free agency, with new VP of Player Personnel Kyle Smith someone who had a hand in drafting him in Washington with the Football Team.
The team has Grady Jarrett, Marlon Davidson, Tyeler Davison and Ta’Quon Graham, but let’s be frank, any help this defensive line can get right now would be welcomed. Though Settle is a free agent next spring, the team could be first in line to negotiate a new deal with him. After his five-sack 2020 performance, he’s sackless right now and could perhaps come at a minimal cost, especially with the Seahawks nosediving. Maybe Settle could get his 2020 spark back, since ESPN notes he’s only taking 14.6 percent of snaps right now in Washington in a deep group.
Make it a fifth if Settle hits four sacks by the end of the year, a sixth if not.
HOU DE Jordan Jenkins and a 2022 seventh for a 2022 sixth-round pick
The Texans are in a place of rebuild right now and might be happy to part ways with most anyone on the roster that’s not a franchise face. 2021 free agent signing Jordan Jenkins had a really solid year in New York last fall, but he’s failed to duplicate that success in Houston.
Falcons linebackers coach Frank Bush was a part of the Jets defensive staff last year that Jenkins thrived under, and maybe a chance of scenery could help him tap back into that potential now that Bush is on staff in Atlanta. Again, the Falcons’ pass rush stinks and it’s possible the team could flip a late Day 3 picks with Houston and acquire Jenkins.
MIA CB Noah Igbinoghene for a 2023 fifth-round pick
Igbinoghene has gotten shafted to Miami’s inactive list, a huge fall from grace for the 2020 first-round corner (be thankful for A.J. Terrell) in a class that seems to have produced some real head-scratching results. He’s still just 21 and has talent, however, and while the price might be lower than what the Dolphins are willing to receive, it can’t hurt to try.
The Falcons need some young depth in the corner group and perhaps they’d be interested in Igbinoghene? He’s still got some upside and maybe he’d add a bit on special teams, too. Of all the defensive backs out there, he intrigues based on pedigree alone.
Falcons to consider trading
TE Hayden Hurst to Tennessee for a 2022 fifth-round pick
This one I feel a bit less excited writing about because I love Hurst as a person and he’s starting to find more of a role in Arthur Smith’s offense. I’m not sure what he’d fetch on the market in 2022, and if it’s an affordable price, maybe he could stick around as Kyle Pitts’ understudy for the foreseeable future.
If Hurst wants to be a TE1 somewhere, that job is very much locked up now by Pitts, who is already well on his way to being the NFL’s best tight end. If the Falcons and Hurst know they’ll part ways when the year is over, maybe trading him to a contender isn’t a bad idea.
Look to the Titans, who could use some help in the tight end game with its position group all underperforming without Smith to call the plays. Hurst could step in and immediately challenge Anthony Firkser for reps in the passing game. Maybe the Titans would even send Firkser down to be back with Art to recapture the magic the two found together in TN.
DE John Cominsky to Dallas for a 2022 seventh-round pick
Cominsky feels like he’s fallen out of favor with this new regime, and it seems like former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn had a bit of a better grasp on how to use the athletic defensive lineman.
Perhaps Quinn and the Cowboys would be interested in supplanting depth on its playoff-ready defense by flipping a last-round pick over to Atlanta for Cominsky, who could reunite with the coach who drafted him. He’s not likely to be in Atlanta much longer if he continues to be a weekly inactive.
Well, that’s what we’ve got. None of this will probably happen, but if it does, these feel like reasonable scenarios for a team that isn’t going to swing for the fences or engage in a fire sale.
Does anything above sound good to you? Any moves sound like possibilities? Chime in below.
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