Will McFadden is joined by Luke Easterling of Athlon Sports to reflect on how free agency has reshuffled the NFC South pecking order and walk through his recent 4-round mock draft. With Kirk Cousins in the fold, Luke expects the Falcons to target defense in this year’s draft and he’s got some exciting names in mind for Atlanta.
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What’s up everyone and welcome to another edition of believe in Falcons I your host will mcfaden I will be joined today by Luke easterling of Athlon Sports we’re going to touch base on the moves in the NFC South so far in free agency um has the hierarchy shifted in
That division are the Falcons on top are the bucks with all of their moves to retain their guys still kind of the lead dog what do we the Saints we touch on that and then we’re going to get into Luke’s newest four round mock draft he’s
Got the Falcons making the five picks in the first four rounds so we’re going to go kind of pick by pick and get his thoughts on who he selected for the Falcons and why before wrapping up on who he’s got the other NFC South teams taking in the first round just to kind
Of get the lay of the land after Luke’s first mock so again that is what we have on to for you guys today before we get into my conversation with Luke I want to just touch on a little bit of a trend that I’ve seen from a lot of the main
Websites and and sports blogs that the Falcons are winning free agency um and so I’m going to get into you know why that may be I think we all know why it may be but also why we may want to kind of pump the brakes on totally buying
Into that notion at least as it pertains to future success and predicting that success so that is what I’ve got on to for you guys today um please spread the word about this podcast if you can uh and check us out on our YouTube page believe in Falcons uh nice and easy for
You guys there and I encourage you guys to check out all of our other believe podcast Network podcasts um for all of your NFL Draft coverage or if you just want to get the lay of the land on some of the other teams out there so that’s
What I’ve got for you guys up top before we get to my thoughts on the Falcon winning free agency couple ad reads for you is here bet online is your bracket headquarters for this season with the best bracket contest out there and odds lines and info on every game and every
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And of the BET was that if I lost which I ended up losing spoil or alert I had to wear a banana suit to uh to class all the next day so what did I do I’m a man of my word put on the banana suit went
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For a 10% welcome deposit bonus don’t forget that promo code believe Falcons cut put your money where your mouth is all right so before we get into my conversation with Luke just through some uh some major sports sites that have the Falcons dominating free agency so CBS Sports has
The Atlanta Falcons with an a for their key editions of kurk cousins Darnell Mooney and Rond Del Moore and that’s really just kind of the main three so while a lot of other teams have made plenty of moves the way kind of the Falcons did last year to totally
Reinvent one side of the ball or fill just a majority of their needs maybe they did what Tampa Bay did and just kind of kept the group together the Falcons have not made a majority of moves it’s more about the specific moves that they made and of course anytime you
Land a quarterback and not just any quarterback but kind of the main quarterback in free agency and one of the main quarterbacks to hit free agency in a long time because again her cousins bring such a high level of of FL to the organization and and quarterbacks with
His track records still playing kind of in their Prime and I know given the injury given his age we wonder how long that window is still going to be open but I do expect it to be there for at least this year if not next year and
That’s what the contract is right so I think the Falcons feel similarly but if he is anywhere close to that then yes this move changes fundamentally how we should feel about Atlanta’s offense and the offense was the problem last year for the Falcons so it makes sense why
The Falcons would get an A from CBS Sports but CBS Sports is not the only one um the or Sports Illustrated actually has the Atlanta Falcons as their most improved team um this offseason so again they will mention Charlie Warner among that group Ray Ray McLoud but it is Kurt Cousins it’s Rond
Moore and it’s Darnell money and that’s also the reason Pro Football Focus has not just Atlanta’s quarter back room as the most improved quarterback room in all of football which again that makes a lot of sense you go from Desma rter to Kurt Cousins that’s gonna be about as
Big a jump as as you’re going to get short of a year where you go from Zack Wilson to Aaron Rogers uh and so the Falcons making that move that’s a no-brainer but I was kind of shocked to see that receiver they also had the Falcons as the most improved receiver
Room um I don’t think that’s so much a slight to what they had last year although this time last year you look at it and you’re like man they have this is scary this is not a group that you would feel great going into battle with but
It’s more about the upside of Darnell Mooney and Rond Del Moore um and I think PFF is is very high on both of those guys maybe a little bit higher than than you might otherwise be certainly Rond Del Moore but the speed element they’re going to bring they can probably open up
And create space that just simply wasn’t there for Atlanta last year not there for Drake London not there for Kyle pit I mean how many times did we see them running that kind of dagger concept where you’ve got one clearing off the safety and the other kind of running
That deep in behind it and there just wasn’t the speed element needed and so many times one player could cover both guys because the clear out wasn’t getting out fast enough so that aspect I agree with Pro Football Focus I was just surprised that no other room you know I
Think the Bears adding Keenan Allen like that’s a pretty big upgrade Mike Williams going over to the Jets like that’s pretty awesome as well so I was just surprised that Darnell Mooney and Rond Moore pop that list but I like the upside for both players I don’t know who
Could be the wide receiver two wide receiver three they could probably be both at times so again it’s gon to sort itself out but in terms of just pure names yeah that’s uh that’s not a bad batch and then ESPN has the Falcons as kind of their fourth most improved team
And that’s because of the kind of quantity aspect again a smaller list but the quality is there which is why they get into the top four my point about all of this though is that I was around in 2020 as I’m sure a lot of listeners were
Right but when the Falcons added Todd Gurley lacoin Treadwell Hayden Hurst um who else was on that I’ve got it uh pulled up right here James Carpenter the left guard and we were all writing headlines about oh my God the Falcons offense is now filled with four for
First round picks all 11 starters former first round picks how insane to be it was so insane to got Dan Quinn fired after five games I got Thomas demitro fired after five games I mean just because you win the off season doesn’t mean anything once the season actually
Starts yes we’re looking at what Kurt Cousins has done historically and I have been bullish on that I think he is going to kind close to where he left off because I think that this type of quarterback their Prime is actually later in their careers they rely Less on
Their athletic ability look at what Matthew Stafford is doing look at what historically Dre Brees did Tom Brady continued to play at a high level late in their career and he’s only 36 like Matt Ryan was still playing very well at 36 years old Philip Rivers still playing
Well at 36 years old it wasn’t until 3839 that these guys really started to kind of hit a cliff so I am bullish on Kurt Cousins but until you start seeing what the actual strengths and what the actual weaknesses are on Sundays because defenses are paid to exploit those
Weaknesses right now we’re only talking about what they’re bringing we don’t know these players well enough yet to know their Blind Side other teams are going to exploit them we haven’t seen Rond Del Moore drop a pass on third down yet you know and I’m not saying he will
And certainly I hope he doesn’t but everything right now is viewed with rose-colored glasses while I think it’s great that the Falcons address their needs in a big way they took a big swing to fix their biggest need I agree with that I think that’s awesome
But because they took such a big swing and because he cost so much money it may have limited their ability to add one more guy in the secondary or go get that big pass rusher if they wanted to trade for him now we’ll see what the consequences of that could be but there
Is no question making that move has rightfully earned Atlanta a top a lot of these offseason winner lists I’m just saying that doesn’t mean once the fall actually comes around I’m joined Now by Luke easterling of Athlon Sports you guys can follow him on Twitter at Luke easterling nice and simple Luke thanks
For taking the time to join me man how are you doing my pleasure I’m in enemy territory here born and raised here in the Tampa area so don’t don’t tell all of my bucks followers that I’m here same I’m a native atlantan so you know we we come it from you know
Opposing perspectives but at least we’ve got a lot of history to call upon uh with these these two NFC South rals and actually that’s a great place to start we know that the Falcons made kind of the Big Splash move of free agency but the Bucks kind of right there behind him
Keeping a lot of guys around I’m curious the moves this off season do you think it changes the NFC South landscape because I know a lot of people now view the Falcons as kind of that clear favorite not so sure I still think Tampa
Bay has a lot to offer how do you see things yeah I think that it it becomes a bit more of a competition now and I think Atlanta throws themsel into that into that conversation I think last year you know everybody was wondering what the Bucks would look like to a certain
Extent after obviously the departure of Tom Brady you knew you had some free agents and Changing of the Guard with the offensive staff and and weren’t really sure what that was going to look like I know a lot of people expected a huge regression there um obviously that
Did not happen they you know relied on a lot of that Championship experience Baker Mayfield had the best year of his career uh and and the Bucks still kind of had to eek it out there at the end right and I think the Saints the Saints
Have always made sense as like a default like well it’s it’s a terrible Division and the team that’s probably going to win it is probably the the older more experienced team that has the more veteran quarterback and so when you started last offseason to kind of check
Those boxes you probably ended up saying eh the Saints will probably go eight and nine and still win and then get blown out in the first round of the playoffs because that’s that’s what the plan was right and so this year I think it’s a different conversation where you know I
Think the Saints didn’t really look like any kind of contender for much of last season I think the Bucks obviously had their stretches where where they were doubted and rightly so and then picked it up right at the right time um but Atlanta I don’t think you know Atlanta
Was always in a you know rebuild type of conversation I don’t think anybody was really sure that the that Ritter was going to be the guy even heading into that season so for the Falcons in particular I think the the move to make kurk cousins the franchise quarterback
It really kind of launches them again it feels similar in ways to the Derek Carr signing for New Orleans last year where it was just like we know we have some pieces around we know we’re in a very winnable division what does it take to get there
It takes a reliable quarterback and I I think that Kurt Cousins fit that bill obviously they went and and paid a premium for that uh but that’s that’s the difference is is when you have and I’m going to be honest again as a bucks guy I’m not thrilled that you guys have
Raheem Morris back as your head coach I’m not happy about it okay he’s a damn good head coach he’s I think I think he’s going to be I mean he was here for three years as he went from a defensive backs coach to a head coach at a very young age here in
Tampa Bay and just I don’t think anybody’s ready for that you know to make that jump and it was a very short like time frame right he was supposed to be the defensive coordinator and then just immediately jumped the head coach yep and there’s some people you can talk
To around these parts that have some fun stories about how all that went down I can’t attest to any of them because I wasn’t there but from what I’ve heard it was a very interesting transition uh with the again with the firing of John Gruden and then with Raheem Morris kind
Of being launched into that spot but my my point is that he may not have been ready then but he’s still took one of the least talented bucks teams of like that generation and they won 10 games and barely missed the playoffs BAS on a tiebreaker and so players resonated with
Him so much and I think everybody who who saw the potential that he had during those three years in Tampa Bay have just kind of been waiting for him to get his next shot because we all kind of root for him and now now it’s with the
Falcons so we can’t root for him which is disappointing but I I think my point is is that he’s going to handle the defensive side of things I I don’t think there will be much of a drop off if if any at all in terms of how well they
Play defense they still have again some some stud players on that side of the ball I think they’re going to add some more in this draft class now that they’ve handled the quarterback situation but all that to say there are a lot of reasons why I totally understand people being like okay okay
The Falcons have what it takes obviously you have the offensive weapons that you’ve invested in over the last three or four drafts uh and now you have the quarterback you have a head coach who I think is going to be more aggressive and and and be able to get more out of his
His team than we saw under Arthur Smith and think good good news for the Falcons and I think bad news for everybody else in that division well I mean that that is great to hear from an Atlanta perspective but you’re totally right about Raheem Morris I mean I I was there
In the building for four years while he was there with Dan Quinn and it made complete sense to me immediately why he would be the choice to kind of go back to right he is way more personable as a player coach like everybody in the building loves him he can get everybody
Galvanized on the same page and if there was a team that felt like it didn’t need to go in a different direction it just kind of needed new management and to kind of keep things on track from a roster standpoint he’s the type of coach that you can plug in here and probably
Get different results out of different guys while you still have some of the same pieces in place so and my favorite thing about him in kind of this whole cycle was that what you just mentioned about the the first time around with Tampa and what he was able to do with a
A young roster with a depleted roster in some ways and and kind of turn them around so quickly like he did that and then everything after that job is why I liked him as a head coach so even if he didn’t have that head coaching experience the first time around he
Would be one of the strongest candidates right in this class and it’s like oh and he’s also already done it for three years so yeah and he’s still super young because started so early that and again I do think that head coaching experience is going to is is going to come in handy
He’s going to have a lot a long list of don’t do that again you know do do this differently and and be able to grow from the experience that he had with the other coaches around him and again like you mentioned all the other stops and and defensive coordinator stops and and
Places you don’t think he he learned you know how to how to manage an entire team from Shawn McVey you don’t think he picked up certain things from defending his offense that is is going to help uh think of all the coordinators he has worked with like he he the defensive guy
In that Washington class that has gone on to put out Mike McDaniel and Mike Matt laflor Sean MC or yeah Kyle shanan everybody he was the defensive Guru in that in that class so like if there’s somebody who could maybe come up with a an interesting counter to what the
Offenses are doing in this league it it definitely could be Raheem Morris um to the kurk cousins part of it all really quickly and then we’ll get into some mock draft stuff I interestingly think that Arthur Smith kind of did a good job of raising the floor of this team which
Was the issue under Dan Quinn kind of the first time around you had all this talent but the it just kind of bottomed out at times in the weirdest possible ways but then you get three straight seven win Seasons when two of those seasons are kind of overperforming it it’s weird that the
Quarterback position they just never got a floor on you know the the Desma Ritter had such a huge variability and yeah maybe he could he could do better than you expected and you win 11 games and you’re as surprise team but he also could go the other way and you could
Have been like a four- win team if if he had been even worse than he was so Kurt Cousins certainly raises the floor of this group because he just brings a baseline level of Competency at the comp at the position for such a long period of time that barring any type of
Unforeseen Cliff like we saw out of maybe Matt Ryan in Indianapolis or Philip Rivers in Indianapolis um barring anything like that or just the injury is way more kind of lingering than we expect and it just impacts him I do think you’re going to get a strong level
Of quarterback play so to me the ceiling for this Falcons team offensively at least now kind of pivots back to these young guys that we’re all excited about but the pressure almost shifts to them is you should have a quarterback that is like Chris Paul and able to distribute
The ball on time where it’s supposed to go now those guys have to do something with it so I still think that Tampa has the best set of like receiving the the receiving group in Tampa is my favorite but I am curious to see what Drake
London can do with with Kurt Cousins I’m curious to see if Darnell Mooney can bounce back um so any final thoughts on that before we pivot over to the draft Yeah I think again you mentioned not just the the young guys that they’ve had in that building for a couple years now
But I really like some of the additions they made I think Darnell money and even rondale Moore are are both High upside additions that if they don’t work out again Mooney got a little bit of so you really hoping that works out but you know Mooney to me
Feels like a very Russell gagy kind of player in that like you know undersized and and banged up a little because of that but great route Runner can separate if he’s healthy which again Russell Gage unfortunately even down here in Tampa that just didn’t work out because he
Couldn’t stay healthy but when he was I mean Russell gazes would kill the Bucks that’s why they signed him right because they he was always putting up big numbers against them but I I I love the potential of Mooney and Moore in that offense and I also think that again with
With the early picks that the the the Falcons have and I’m sure we’ll get into this the the opportunity to add another weapon to that offense and to just keep giving Kurt Cousins whatever I think my biggest concern with Kurt Cousins and I’ll end with this is 36 years old and
Coming off a torn Achilles and I think that again he’s not a mo you know he’s not the guy that’s G to necessarily want to get out of the pocket and do much you’re not going to need him to to do that as much I think that would be my
Biggest concern especially with the financial investment is you you are talking about a guy who’s older guy who’s coming off a serious injury that’s really really I think the only thing that should keep this Falcons offense from being a huge improvement over what we’ve seen the last few years yeah and
Just to pile on that um I had Dr Chow on uh earlier this week to kind of talk to me about Kirk Cousins injury just the ail’s rehab process and one key difference that he noted with maybe somebody like Aaron Rogers who’s coming off of this is It’s a right Achilles
Injury which is going to be the drive foot for Kurt Cousins so you got to be able to really kind of push a lot of your body weight quickly off of that if you’re going to step up in the pocket you know it could be off of that one so
That’s true just one more thing to note but he anticipates Kirt cousins to be ready to go week one um but again it’s not just availability it’s then how do you play on top of that um right right so let’s pivot over to the draft you
Have a new four round mock draft up on The Fan Nation page over at si.com that I encourage everybody to go check out but you’ve got the Falcons taking a pretty common name I I had him uh not at eight I actually did some weird trades
It was my first time getting into mock draft trades I would do it differently if uh when I do it over again I I kind of did some Shenanigans there but ultimately we both ended up with Dallas Turner in the first round for Atlanta why does he make sense to you well I
Think obviously you’re you’re trying to pair needs with Talent right so you look at the needs now after the first couple waves of free agency and I think the the biggest need for for Atlanta is still for that that differ maker off the edge right you need a a pass rusher who can
Strike fear into the hearts of of offensive tackles and opposing quarterbacks and I think they you know there’s some there’s some upside there’s still some young upside on that roster some rotational guys that I think could improve and could be quality starters but we just haven’t seen it yet and so
When I when I think about sitting there at eight you’re thinking about the fact that no defensive player is going to come off the board yet in my opinion when you look at the quarterbacks that are going to come off you’re going to look at those top three Elite receivers
That are going to come off maybe a left tackle uh I I think you’re sitting at eight and no defensive players have come off the board so you’re saying you know what defensive player is worthy of that who who deserves to be the first one and thankfully for Atlanta I think it’s at
The position that they need the most and when you look at Turner obviously the athletic profile is there he’s got the size he’s got the athleticism obviously what he did at the combine but that stuff shows up on film he looks like that kind of athlete on film and you
Know for for a guy who kind of had to wait his turn behind will Anderson Jr uh and and again it’s not uncommon for Alabama guys to have to wait a little while but when he finally got the chance this past season to be a full-time
Starter 15 tackles for loss 11 sacks you know you you saw the the ability there and again the versatility he’s such a great athlete that if you need him to drop into space you need him to you know slide out and check tight ends and and
And be survive in a way that he’s not just a pass rusher he’s obviously the kind of athlete uh who can do that so when when you think about as a prospect in general is he worthy of a top 10 pick I think absolutely when you look at how
He fits with not just the team need but the defense the scheme exactly what they need from that position I think he checks all those boxes too and and so when you put all those things together I think that’s why it’s such a common name is because all of those things line up
Uh and you really have to reach to find another guy that that fits that spot and fits what they need more than Dallas Turner does yeah it’s that athleticism bit and kind of the ability to do a little bit more than just rush the passer at a high level compared to
Somebody like Jared verse who I think is also the player that a lot of people feel at least caliber wise are is kind of maybe worthy of a a top 10 Fringe top 10 pick but when you look at what I expect this defense to kind of be in
2024 more of that 34 base look your outside linebackers are going to be primarily pass rushers but because I expect rahee Morris and Jimmy Lake to bring over that kind of version of the big fangio defense that they were running over in La you’re going to have
A lot of post Snap movement rotating a safety down maybe shifting your coverage and so at times that’s going to necessitate one of those outside rushers yeah to drop in and be a little bit of a dummy rusher so you can simulate pressure from somewhere else and that
Little aspect right there is why you could look at Jared vers and say all right he brings some of that power element that you would want as maybe a run defender or some of that inside out Rush versatility but I just think Dallas Turner brings like straight your hairs
On fire tenacity off the edge he’s just going to knife in he may not be as powerful but he’ll almost do like a Euro Step kind of around a tackle type of move which I love to get that halfman Advantage so that’s why like Dallas Turner you’re right it it rarely does it
Gets boring right but just it’s too good of makes much sense I agree about verse to I think he’s probably the more polished guy in the general sense I think he’s probably got a higher floor in that at worst I think he’s going to be jpp at the next level right where
Even when his explosiveness kind of leaves later in his career he’s such a damn good run Defender that he’s just always going to be on the field and so I I think you’re right scheme will play a big part in that if I ran more of a 4-3
Base where he would be a base end who can hold the edge against the Run win with power and counters inside or outside then he’s probably my guy who again I think might have a more immediate impact because he’s so polished and experienced but yeah I just
I think the athleticism and and the ceiling and the fit with Turner is just so good I mean he ran in the four fours you can stick him in the slot you you can put you the the alignment things that you can do with a guy like that
Because he can survive athletically in space and in different matchups allows you to move those known rushers around at the like you said the pre and post Snap movement it allows you to do so many more things with a guy who can you can’t just look out there and say oh
He’s in the slot but he’s coming you know he’s not you know he’s not gonna it’s just window dressing it’s not like that with a guy like Turner you know he can stay out in space and survive and you can do so many more things when you
Have a defensive coach like rahee Morris coming in I I I have a hard time believing that he wouldn’t kind of stand on the table for a guy like that that allows him to do so many fun things yeah and I mean also the time that Raheem
Morris spent with Dan Quinn who we know that defense just values athletes dudes who can are just different which is why I keep looking at you know if they don’t go end I could see them maybe going with that number two Corner Spot and you look
At a guy like Teran Arnold or quinan Mitchell both of those guys make a lot of sense from that perspective so there’s options for Atlanta which could be maybe they make a small hop back if if a Denver if a Vegas wants to move up to to grab a quarterback there’s options
For Atlanta at number eight but at number 43 you have them going with reonardo green the Florida State cornerback who I’ll be honest even in all of my draft prep and I’m nowhere near the expert that that you are but in my cursory studying I hadn’t come across
Renardo green I hadn’t gotten him yet on the the list I know that some people have him listed as a safety so there’s versatility to his game but tell me about reonardo green yeah I I have to plead the same thing right because I I
When I did um I did the uh The Scouting capsules for the Athlon Sports Draft guide this year so I I when I was going through and putting together my list of corners and going through he’s not even in the magazine like if you go buy the
Magazine which I please go buy the magazine but if you go look he’s not even in there I didn’t make it to Renardo green by the time press time happened right because we have to have all that stuff done really really early you got cam Hart you got Max Belton you
Got those I got all those guys but man Renardo is nowhere to be found because I just hadn’t made it that far yet and obviously when I found there’s a couple other guys that that I was like oh my gosh if I’d seen this guy beforehand
Like he would be he’d be not just in it but like in the second third round and Bernardo is definitely one of those guys I just got to him way too late and then when you get to the film and you see what he did I believe he was at the
Shrine game just a a very comfortable confident particularly in in press in match man situations where he’s just he just stands up against everybody and and if you go back and look at when he did his best work it was against LSU and and so when when your best film is against
Two of the elite receivers in this draft mik neighbors who you could make a strong case is the best receiver in this draft depending on what you need and Brian Thomas Jr who just an absolute I mean at that size and speed again I I think he’s a comfy wide receiver four
For me in this class even in such a deep class but I mean go go watch that tape go watch what reonardo green did with both of those guys and and you’ll understand why he’s a day two guy I think for a lot of people um and again
Just just kind of checks all the boxus big enough long enough fast enough and again just has the mentality the physicality the the confidence that that I mean in order to play Corner in this league you have to be stupidly confident like you have to have like a a detached
From reality amount of I am the best player to ever play this position in the history of the world that’s like the mentality that I think if you talk to a lot of Corners that’s just how they operate on the field they they have to do that because it’s I think it’s the
Hardest position in the game to play and and so green is a guy who I think he’ll feel like one of those risers right we say guys rise up the board this time of year what all that means is that we are starting to figure out just how much the
League actually has always liked this guy and we’re just we’re just figuring it out now and I I think Renardo green will be one of those guys I love this corner class but I think he’s a guy that might come off the board higher than
Usual and again I think it would be a great fit for what they need across from AJ Terrell I do think like you mentioned though like corner is a dark horse first round position for them and I think part of that is that that’s that’s raheem’s
Wheelhouse right he’s a DB guy yeah and I think if he falls in love with the right corner I tweeted this a long time ago when I was when I when I really Dove deep into terion Arnold I was like man I just I feel like raheem’s gonna fall in
Love with this guy and be like I know we need a pass rusher man but I need I need this guy I need this DB on my team because he’s so fluid so sound and and that wouldn’t shock me at all especially like you said if they Dro down a little
Bit Arnold would be such a great fit there too yeah the the one reason why I keep coming back to that edge rusher is because of some of that depth that you were talking about if you look at wide receiver sure the Falcons could go and
And add like a stud receiver in the first round but the addition of Darnell Mooney changes that a little bit and then they could also grab you know somebody really solid on day two that would still come in and and have a lot of upside corner is kind of the same way
But I I don’t feel that way necessarily about Edge like there’s not a day two Edge or you know many of them really past kind of the first couple of guys that you feel has that true true upside so that kind of is just pure math for me
At that point yep um but you have the Falcons going wide receiver uh in the third round with Jaylen pul uh at 74 and that’s you know a name I’ve seen creep up into the first round at time so it seems like there could be a little bit
Of a a window or range there on him you know why why is pulk your your right guy for Atlanta there so in terms of pulk in his range in just in general I think the fact that he ended up every every time I
Do a deep mock like that I get to the halfway through the third round and I’m like how in the hell is are these four receivers still there like I literally will have to scroll back through and I’m like no not there like there’s no like
There’s nowhere to go like this it’s the position I find that I keep having fall down the board too just because again the depth really pushes it back it’s wild man and again I think the the fun thing about this draft in a general sense is that you also have three Elite
Wide receivers at the top right so it’s not like it’s a weird conundrum for a team like you know the Giants or the or the Chargers at five and six where they’ll be like I could take an elite wide receiver but if I wait I can get a first round wide receiver halfway
Through the second round yeah what what should I do here so it’s an interesting it’s an interesting situation but but for the Falcons it just always seems like a guy that I would love to take in the 40s ends up on the board in the 70s
And and I just can’t not do that especially when they have multiple thirds from the the the Calvin Ridley deal I I feel like one of those has got they’ve got to put themselves in a position which again speaks to why you got to get that edge rusher early to
Make sure you don’t have to worry about that get that number two Corner if you can but that I feel like that third round there’s going to be so many quality receivers whether it’s Ricky piol Jr or Roman Wilson Jaylen pulk what’s the what’s the the the Common
Thread with all these guys super polished great route Runners reliable strong hands at the catch Point got that is all number two receivers that like though my guy has to do those things really really well so that while Drake London is is drawing coverage and drawing roles you know to his side of
The field I know I have a number two option who’s always going to be open and when you get again a guy like moony who’s you know can take the top off can can challenge from the slot that number two guy has to do all those fundamental
Things really really well and I just think there’s too many guys clustered in that range who are going to keep getting knocked down the board because there’s 10 or 12 other positions that teams are going to have to fill and I just every time I do it there’s somebody like that
It just happened to be pulk in this scenario uh that I just he’s such a winner at the catch Point man again he’s not a Blazer he’s not going to blow by everybody but he’s so technically and fundamentally sound with with the little things in this game that I feel like
He’s the perfect wide receiver to for really any offense uh because he does all those little things so well and again in the third round it’s just a no-brainer I just I couldn’t go anywhere but receiver there because of all the value that was on the board yeah yeah I
Mean that that all makes perfect sense to me and if you look at how you the common and popular refrain is that you can build a receiver room like a basketball team right starting five and and you can have your different elements to complement each other and Drake
London hopefully evolves to become a little bit of that doit all but like his physicality and obviously his ability to win at the catch point is his his signature but then if you are adding Darnell Mooney and almost that like van Jefferson role or Alan Robinson what he
Was supposed to be with the Rams that type of element of speed but also you know a little bit of athleticism um and can move around all over the formation you bring in a guy like Jaylen P or Roman Wilson is kind of my of the trio
That you mentioned like he’s beauty of the eye of the beholder there for me um but yeah that number two who’s a Savvy route Runner wins on third down like when you need to have it can kind of come through so that makes a lot of sense if you’re looking at that missing
Element of Atlanta’s wide receiver room right now um well you mentioned it earlier with the bucks right that’s that’s why their tandem works so well you’ve got the the big physical stretch the field big play kind of do it all guy and Mike Evans and Godwin is just the
Perfect two he’s the he can go in the slot he can line up on the outside he wins those tough battles he’s physical he’s well built you know there’s so many things that understanding route depths and third down situations and where the chains are and the strong hands there’s
So many reasons why he fits that so well and that a guy like pulk I think has a lot of those same traits and would be the perfect match to a guy like London as well you’ve got uh LSU defensive tackle Makai Wingo at number 79 for
Atlanta another player I don’t know too much about so tell me about him uh I think he’s the perfect Grady Jarrett understudy basically a guy who UND under sized uh but not not lacking for the explosiveness right makes up for it with his ability to knife into the back field
To use those Slants and stunts and and angles to kind of beat guys to the point and again there’s there’s an element of of stature when you’re talking about interior guys that you can have an advantage because you’re not as tall as some of these other guys if you’re you
Know ruk aoro horo who’s 6’4 getting pad level inside against some of these 62 63 guards is is really tough off the ball and so when you got a guy like maai Wingo who I think is 6-1 at best he’s still wide but he’s so explosive off the ball and I think when
You look at go go read if you were to put take the names off and go find a a gr Jarrett Scouting Report from that that draft from Clemson yeah and look at and look at what Mak brings as a prospect here and you would change the
Names you might see so many many similarities there where they’re like ah you know they’re probably too small but man they’re really good when they’re good and and good at what they do and I just I feel like the fit was too good it’s probably time to find that guy to
Kind of Groom to have that role in the next be 31 at the start of this season coming off of an ACL injury so I just think it was too too perfect too great a fit and and too similar of a prospect to not bring him in and let him learn
Behind Grady as he kind of has that Twilight of his career and and just have a seamless transition to another undersized again Grady was a fifth round pick too so I mean he was a guy that wasn’t even expected to become what he became but here you can find a guy that
That has similar traits that you can kind of learn under him and grow and and hopefully become the kind of player who can have the same impact I think undersized defensive tackle who is exceptionally quick and explosive and plays with great Leverage is like my favorite every single year in the draft love
Thiss like every year yeah but this year I mean even yeah you look at uh umon Murphy like essal yeah Newton slightly undersides you got Wingo I think Chris Jenkins is probably a little bit smaller yeah but there’s a lot of those guys you you must enjoy this interior Class A lot
Because I feel like there’s a lot of those guys I’m a I’m a sucker for undersized defensive tackles and undersized linebackers that can can run Michael Hall junr Michael Hall junor is another one he’s yeah it’s I it’s mean it’s huge like it because it’s working
Right when you do have some guys in the NFL who go on to success then you know Christian Wilkins grd Jarrett those guys had the same exact type of of label coming out but let’s wrap up the Falcons look with uh fourth round you’ve got UNCC linebacker Cedric gray I am
Familiar with uh with his play a little bit but I’m curious what your logic is here because I I look at what I expect this defense to be I don’t think it’s going to be inside linebacker heavy and they do already have a few guys to the
Position that I really like so what what was this was this value was this special teams was this depth what in your mind all of the above I I think that when when you have a guy that brings Cedric Gray’s amount of of size and length and
Athleticism and range that at that point in the if he had gone around earlier I would have been fine with it in terms of of a value standpoint but I do wonder how some of these teams are going to Value the inside linebackers they just
Got to be the right fit so it just it was kind of similar to pulk where it got to the point where I feel like I do like what Atlanta has at the position at the moment but that should never keep you from everybody can get injured there
They got to the point where I looked at every other position that would have made maybe a little more sense from a need standpoint and I just I didn’t have anybody else that I liked enough to pass on a guy like gray and and what he could add to that room immediately probably
Push some of those guys for some defensive snaps but obviously give you special teams value right away with the upside to to become a starter very very quickly because I really like the traits that he brings well and that’s exactly the right mentality to have pretty much
Like fourth round on when you start getting to day three it is less about need and for Atlanta under Terry font know it’s never been hugely about need anyway but yeah when you get into day four it’s just like we need to add some talent that we feel like we can work
With and maybe develop and and who was just the best guy available so that makes a lot of sense um Luke I’ll just kind of wrap it up I guess with the the rest of the NFC South in the first round in your mock draft um you’ve got the
Saints taking JC leam at 14 and then you’ve got the Bucks trading back back actually with Kansas City it’s interesting we we had some same team player pairings like I had am Marius Mims actually falling all the way to 32 with Kansas City but you have them
Trading up to grab him and you have the Bucks going back and getting Grant Barton at 32 so talk to me about leam and and Barton before I let you go so with with leam I think I mean offensive line is clearly the the biggest need I
Think for for New Orleans I think they need another Edge guy too but you know bringing in Chase young kind of kind of plugs that hole for the the short term and and and mean I still think they would go there day two uh with with Cam
Jordan and and him getting up there in age but I think the offensive line is so immediate like they’ve got and they’re and they’re perfectly placed in that first round to get a really really great player I think that that Core group of tackles whether it’s fuaga or or Mims or
Any of I mean any of those guys if if fashanu falls that far um but I think leam is great because leam can play either Tackle Spot or or guard if you need him to at that that frame and that size and I think again coming from
Alabama you know he’s going to be super polished you know he’s going to be Pro ready he’s he’s just absolutely massive and and rarely athletic for for that size uh so I think he just he fits in anywhere the the Saints need to plug a starter on the offensive line which
Pretty much everywhere I think he could fit in a good way and I think with Barton very similar situation with Tampa bay where the tackles are set they really like Right Guard Cody M from last year’s draft class who made huge strides over the season but left guard is is
Glaring in needs Center they would really like to upgrade Robert hanesy has been doing his best since since they lost Ryan Jensen to that that devastating knee injury but they really would like to to upgrade both of those spots and with a guy like Barton who
Really can play all five positions he I know most of his experiences at left tackle but he probably is a better guard at the next level and probably even a better Center so I I think what I like most from a bucks perspective about going after Barton and I do think the
Team really likes him I I I I think that that’s I think that’s the guy they really would like to come away with I think Jackson po Jonathan is probably in that conversation too but I think they really like Barton and again with a guy like Barton who has more versatility you
Can take him in the first round and then depending on how the board Falls the rest of the way if you like the guard better later you can play at Center if you like the center better later you can move him to guard and that gives you a
Little bit more flexibility to take the versatile guy early and then see how the rest of the board Falls to fill that other spot whichever one it is based on the board yeah no that’s a great way of thinking about it strategically I I had
Zack fras going to the Bucks kind of in that first round who didn’t mention there on the on the center list but it’s only because I had gr Barton kind of going to the Cowboys a couple picks before which is also a pretty common Mack team player pairing but Luke this
Has been awesome thank you so much for joining me please let uh our listeners know where they can find you and what you got coming down the pipe yeah uh so again on Twitter I’m pretty simple Luke easterling and then come on over to athlonsports.com where we’ve got all
Kinds of draft coverage we’re going to have all the uh all the The Scouting Report information that you can find in the magazine which again I don’t know about you I’m I’m an old school guy I love to have the magazine actually in my
Hand still makes me feel like a kid uh I I love reading that stuff we’re going to have so much information on the website as well so athlonsports.com uh come on over to social media and and and we can talk draft all day long and definitely
Go out and uh and pick up a copy of that magazine everybody do it I do it every year that and Phil steel the college football guy yep all right Luke thank you so much again man hey my pleasure will take care man thank you guys so much for listening to
Today’s podcast which as always was presented by that online thank you to Luke for joining me once again at Athlon Sports go pick up a copy of the draft guide wherever you can back again next week continuing to talk about the NFL draft uh that’s basically what we’re
Going to have on tap for you guys from here on out so until then everybody take [Applause] care
1 Comment
I mean outside the neck, I prefer Latu over Verse. I should love Verse because he seems like that beefcake like Karlaftis but that type of player was in the back of the 1st round.