B+
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by CoachMeyer ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
The trade table was a mismatch, and the Falcons were on the right end of it, hauling in a fortune in surplus value.
They will regret leaving interior defensive lineman for another day if the season turns on it. They will need Bethune to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Justin Fields gives the group a proven body among the projects.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 21st overall pick they get a premier pass rusher at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
A tidy little value on Keon Coleman in the Round 2 slot, a step better than break-even. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Troy Fautanu at the 43rd pick is the proof. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at No. 71 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A need, and now a little less of one.
They went early on Max Melton in slot 104, and the value did not follow. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A real head-scratcher, Jaden Hicks in pick 109 is miles ahead of his ranking. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Joe Milton III. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A wild overpay on Tatum Bethune in pick No. 189, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Akheem Mesidor in Round 6, Pick 30 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value with a capital V on Isaiah Davis in the 225th pick, a genuine coup. It fills a real need, too.
Walter Rouse at No. 248 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.