B-
Atlanta Falcons
Grand theft in pick 145: the Falcons steal Wilson and grade out a B-.
by Ceeone ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 4 steals
· 0 reaches
When a board-topper like Payton Wilson slides to the Round 5 slot, you do not overthink it, and the Falcons did not.
They punted on tight end, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. The roster is better shaped than it was, with offensive lineman chief among the fixes.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 8 they get an island corner at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
They paid sticker price for Xavier Worthy in the 43rd pick, and that is fine. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Nothing to complain about; Brenden Rice went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Leonard Taylor III in Round 4, Pick 9 is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Circle this one: Payton Wilson at the Round 5 slot is a fall that decides a draft. The roster fit checks out.
A quarterback of that caliber at slot 189 is the definition of value, full stop. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They let Michael Wiley come to them and pounced at pick 201. It fills a real need, too.
Ethan Driskell at the 244th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.