I think the Falcons are the pivoting point in the draft. I couldn’t sleep last night so I decided to do some research on what they might do at 4OA. I stumbled on an interview with Thomas Dimitroff the former Falcons GM who was just fired this offseason. He is talking about what the Falcons might do at 4OA. He also weighed in on what he thought SF and Kyle Shanahan might do.
It’s worth watching. Take a moment to listen to this and tell me what vibe you got on what ATL will do and who SF will take.
I don’t want to say right away what vibe I got because I don’t want to influence your thoughts. I’m curious if the pro QB and anti QB guys get different vibes or the same.
Yes he does say what he would do if he were GM and what thought processes the team takes.
Without giving away what he said on who they might take. There’s was a couple key statements he made.
That Arthur Blank will let the new GM and coach decide what direction they want to go.
He said he thought Matt Ryan could still win with the right situation around him. I wondered what that meant exactly. Any thoughts.
He thought the offense had a lot of firepower on it and adding another WR didn’t make sense. He brought up Pitts and how people argue for taking him and he said what are they thinking? No matter how good he is.
Please take a moment to listen to this and then let’s talk about it.
I found the trade back inferences interesting. Seems to affirm the points that some posters have made that in order to move down to 19 (or perhaps even 15) you would have to have an offer that blows you away. There needs to be some additional compensation up and above the chart for you to leave the tier 1 talent pool.
Not surprising to hear that but informative in the sense that it’s an insider confirming that is the way teams think. That might be why Quinn passed on the Devin Bush trade down offer in the ‘19 draft.
Clearly he would take a QB, and would lean toward Fields if available. Although Fields tends to fit what I expect Kyle Shanahan to be looking for in a QB as well. Thought his comment about the TE and drafting one that high raising eyebrows was interesting. Especially when you look at the first time GM and first time HC… That would be a ballsy first move for them.
No talk of Sewell and the offensive line. Or if there was, I missed it. My biggest takeaway - he thinks the Falcons are set at WR. I personally agree. Julio and Ridley are one of the best WR combos in the NFL already. No talk of Sewell, and Pitts is awfully high for #4 overall. So who’s left for them to draft? A QB or trade down.
ATL’s draft position will depend if their is a desirable QB sitting there teams are willing to trip over themselves to trade up for. It could end up nobody is willing to sell the farm to move up because they aren’t that excited by whose left.
I have no problem with people claiming the current trend is towards more mobile QB’s. I just take exception to the thought process that you need one to be successful in today’s NFL.
He did say that Kyle knows what he wants for his system and he’s intrigued to see which way Kyle goes. It’s clear he puts more stock in mobility and he’s wondering if Kyle will agree with him and take Fields over Mac. That’s the impression I got.
Sounds to me it’s QB or trade down. To draft that high and have the chance at drafing a franchise QB to take over for Ryan is there ideal pick. New head coach and GM would probably like to pick “their guy” if one of the qbs at 4 is someone they view can take over in a few years.
To trade back I think they would have to get a hell of a trade offer to pass up drafing a qb that high.
I’ve been thinking they would draft Pitts but after listening I don’t even think he’s in play for them.
The thing is you’re wasting the value of having a QB on a rookie contract if you draft him to sit him. Maybe you can get away with one year as a backup (giving you 4 years of a rookie contract), but anything longer is poor roster management under the current CBA.
That’s why I was so glad the Packers drafted Love. Even if he turns into a stud, the Packers won’t get any roster advantages from having him.
So if you think Ryan is playing for 2 more years in Atlanta (and I do), then drafting a QB means right from the get go, you’re saying ‘I don’t care about the value of a QB on a rookie contract’, and I just don’t think a lot of GMs think that way anymore.
I know what you mean. I wonder how it’ll work out though. Like lets say Aaron plays two more years. Love sits behind him and develops. He plays year four. Team option on year 5, but they go after him for a long term deal. You are signing him probably low for the next 4-5 years, aren’t you? If he pans out anyway. I mean he could explode and then he’s expensive but still less expensive than if he played lights out for two or three years, I would think.
Perhaps, but low for a QB is high for everyone else (Bortles at 20+M for example) and you don’t get the advantages of being able to really build out the rest of the roster.
And if Love refuses to sign a lower deal a la Dak, then they might have to franchise him and that is VERY expensive.
The QB contract is a very valid consideration and a great point. I personally think teams just want a franchise QB and if they have to lose a rookie salary for a year or two to properly lock one in? Cost of doing business. But great point nonetheless
I dunno I see a lot of good teams with QBs on 2nd Contracts. I hear your point though. Ideally you can build out the roster with that extra money, but take the Packers they’ve been able to build out a roster paying ARod. Same with Brady and Brees. And Russ.
The most important thing is FINDING that special player. Its not paying him, IMHO anyway, and really only at Qb.
Yea I tend to agree. If you can draft Fields or Lance and have him train in the new coaches system, and learn from Matt Ryan, man that really sets your franchise up for the next 10-15 years. Hard to pass on that if I’m running the show in Atlanta.
Right I don’t have anything against paying a QB for a 2nd or even 3rd contract, but only after we’ve found our stud. It’s the stuff before we reach that point that I’m talking about.
Liked hearing his overall perspective more than conclusions and getting a vibe for NFL GM life. Wonder where he goes next? It does seem a QB or trade down are best long term choices
I waffle with ATL. They just re-structured Ryan so he’s around for another couple years. But he’s 36. When are they going to be in the top 5 again, and this is considered a strong QB class…
I think they could trade down and collect picks, that way they’d have the ammo to at least trade back up next year or something, like we can.
