Perfect Picks 2023: Atlanta Falcons

By Thomas Willoughby

With the NFL Draft approaching we will be looking at each team and evaluating where they need to improve. In this particular series we will run a seven round mock using the Pro Football Network Mock Draft Simulator and find the ‘Perfect Picks’ for each franchise.

We will highlight four players that could help each team. This will feature picks 1 and 2, a mid round gem and a late round sleeper.

Round 1 - Jalen Carter (Defensive Tackle, Georgia)

Another year, another mystery as to where the Atlanta Falcons will go with their first-round pick. In back-to-back drafts, they’ve selected pass-catchers in an attempt to jump-start the building of an Arthur Smith offense, and you could very easily see them writing the name “Bijan Robinson” with hearts in their eyes come draft day. In fact, that’s where I assumed we’d be going, here, until it became apparent that Jalen Carter’s situation didn’t convince the AI GMs above me. Decision made.

The Falcons have neglected their defense for too long. Stop-gaps and nomarks have plagued near every spot on their depth chart for years, and that needs to change. The little talent they’ve had until now (AJ Terrell and Grady Jarrett, basically) have been supplemented with a free agency haul focused on improving what has been a bottom 5 (bottom 3, if we’re being truthful) outfit since Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith came to power.

In Jalen Carter, they’re getting arguably the best player in the draft. There were rumblings of him being a first-overall type of player as the draft season was just starting up. That was, of course, before he was charged with street racing and reckless driving. Of course, there’s more to the story than just the charge.

What Carter brings as a player is undeniable. A key component in a back-to-back national championship-winning Georgia Bulldog side, Carter’s mere presence on the defensive line would improve everyone around him and the unit as a whole. With the addition of Jessie Bates and Calais Campbell to the defense, the Falcons may have added the veteran leadership needed to nurture Carter into the player, and the man, he was destined to become. It could be the perfect pick for the player and the team.

Round 2 - Darnell Washington (Tight End, Georgia)

I know, I know. Another one? Yep. Another one. In 2021, the Falcons selected Kyle Pitts as the highest-drafted tight end of all time. Only a few weeks ago, the Falcons flipped a seventh-round pick to the Patriots to reunite Jonnu Smith with Arthur Smith. So why would they select Darnell Washington, who largely operated as TE2 at Georgia, in the second round? Well, why not?

6 foot 7, 265lbs. Washington is a specimen in every sense of the word. The Falcons have coveted bigger bodies over the course of the past twelve months (likely to help mask the accuracy issues from their QB options), and Washington is that. More than that, he’s a tight end in the truest sense. A block first, and a receiver second. A good receiver at that, mind, but that isn’t his game, really.

Most importantly, the addition of Washington as the side’s TE3 effectively frees Kyle Pitts to do what he’s best at; catching the ball and picking up yards. Adding Washington gives the Falcons the freedom to unleash Pitts in any position any want to line him up in. Which is exactly the dream fans were sold when they took him in 2021. Now’s the time.

Mid Round Gem - Xavier Hutchinson (Wide Reciever, Iowa State)

This isn’t the pick that will raise eyebrows (Hendon Hooker in the third round should be explained, but I’m simply too cowardly to elaborate!), so we’re going to talk about the Falcons’ next WR2 instead. The Falcons’ wide receiver room currently has Drake London, Mack Hollins, and Scotty Miller in the top three spots. Not great, not terrible. With Xavier Hutchinson, the Falcons are adding another Arthur Smith-type, but they need to give Desmond Ridder every possible means to succeed. So.

I’m not going to pretend like I’m an Iowa State savant. 6 foot 2, 205lbs, and stacks of production, Hutchinson had a college career that’s seen his reputation improve substantially from where he was coming out of High School. As Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network states: “few WRs in the 2023 NFL Draft are better than Hutchinson at the catch point.” Almost like that’s exactly what the Falcons have coveted since Smith was hired as the head coach.

Hutchinson is unlikely to replicate the careers of some of the receivers the Falcons have enjoyed over the past decade or so, but his skillset, matched with the scheme and style currently in place, could be as perfect a match as, well, every other pick from this class.

Late Round Sleeper - Nic Jones (Corner Back, Ball State)

The Falcons’ defense is bad. Or, rather, it has been for a while. As we’ve discussed, they’ve made steps to rectify that over the past couple of months, but they’re still a long way off where they need to be to be considered good. They have a pretty good collection of starters, but very little else beyond that. The cornerback collection, for example, isn’t the best. AJ Terrell is a stud, and Casey Hayward is reliable, albeit aging. Beyond that? Dee Alford seems like a player, and Darren Hall does some nice things, but it’s pretty bare. Step forward, Nic Jones.

Nic Jones feels like a project more than someone who can step in week one and make an impact, but you don’t find many of those in the seventh round of the draft. What you need are players with attributes that can be magnified and molded into something, and Jones has a few of those. In 2022, Jones managed a pair of interceptions and 12 pass deflections. Nothing spectacular, but that indicates an eye for the ball, and making plays. Pro Football Network’s write-up give him plenty to work on to make that next step (hesitation in believing what his eyes are telling him, for one), but that’s not necessarily an issue here. At the end of the draft, you want to take someone who can grow into a player. Nic Jones can be that.

Draft In Full:

Round 1 – Jalen Carter (Defensive Tackle, Georgia)

Round 2 – Darnell Washington (Tight End, Georgia)

Round 3 – Hendon Hooker (Quarterback, Tennessee)

Round 4 – Xavier Hutchinson (Wide Reciever, Iowa State)

Round 4 – Devon Achane (Running Back, Texas A&M)

Round 5 – Trey Dean (Safety, Florida)

Round 7 – Nic Jones (Cornerback, Ball State)

Round 7 – Shaka Heyward (Linebacker, Duke)

Round 7 – Tre Turner (Wide Reciever, Cincinnati)

THOMAS IS A WRITER AND FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER

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