Derrick Brown, Auburn Tigers. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
If the Atlanta Falcons trade up in next week’s draft, here’s who they should go get.
There are things you can count on happening in the first round of NFL Drafts for the last decade. More often than not, the Jacksonville Jaguars will have a top-10 pick, the Seattle Seahawks will trade back and the Atlanta Falcons will trade up. Fate would have it all three scenarios are likely to happen this spring again.
Jacksonville has the No. 9 pick. Seattle has the No. 27 pick and may move out of the first round. According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Falcons might want to trade up to get a player above where they are picking at No. 16. With 11 former first-rounders on the offensive side of the ball, this move up by Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff will be for a defensive player.
Dimitroff has moved up several times in the first round since becoming general manager back in 2008. He has had varying success with this draft approach. He won big time by trading up for wide receiver Julio Jones in 2011, had commendable success by trading up for cornerback Desmond Trufant in 2013 and no success in going up to get defensive end Takkarist McKinley in 2017.
If Atlanta trades up again in a first round under Dimitroff, here are five players worth pursuing.
5
Derrick Brown
DL Auburn Tigers
It would be sweet if the Falcons ended up with a superstar play out of their own backyard. Defensive tackle Derrick Brown starred down the road at Auburn University, becoming one of the greatest players in Tigers football history. He was a unanimous All-American and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He’s a big of a blue chip prospect as they come.
The Sugar Hill, Georgia native could play next to another homegrown product in Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett from Conyers. While Jarrett is the shorter and stockier of the two defensive lineman, he’s of the Aaron Donald vein, while Brown is a more massive commodity at 6-foot-5 and 318 pounds. You can’t coach his size and he projects as a multi-time Pro Bowler.
The reason Brown may not be a top target for the Falcons to trade up is the position he’s expected to be drafted in. Brown is a top-seven prospect in the entire draft. He’s the top defensive line prospect in the draft and should be off the board in the top 10. It’s hard to see him falling past the Carolina Panthers at No. 7 or the Jaguars at No. 9. There is no way Atlanta will trade with Carolina.
However, Atlanta could dial up Jacksonville and make a deal. Jaguars general manager David Caldwell used to work in Atlanta under Dimitroff. These two organizations work together a lot, as they play each other during the final preseason game each year. Jacksonville may look to trade down and collect draft capital for next year. But this is all contingent on Brown falling to No. 9.