Atlanta Falcons GM Terry Fontenot Opens Up on Draft Strategy

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot reinforced the idea of addressing defense in the first round Thursday.

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As the 2024 NFL Draft nears and smoke looms, the Atlanta Falcons’ plans at No. 8 overall have grown less clear.

But general manager Terry Fontenot, who met with reporters Tuesday for the final time before the draft begins Thursday, brought Atlanta’s pre-draft picture back to where it started.

The Falcons, who have also been linked to receivers and quarterbacks with their first-round pick, have glaring needs in their pass rushing core and at cornerback.

Scheduled to make his third consecutive selection at No. 8 overall and fourth in the top 10, Fontenot has his priorities aligned entering the three-day event.

“If you have a pressure player, it’s premiere,” Fontenot said. “No different than a corner – those are premiere positions. It doesn't matter what you have in your building, if you can get them, you definitely want to get them.

“There’s some good ones in this draft at both positions.”

Fontenot acknowledged the strength of the quarterback class, noting it’s possible the draft’s first four picks are all signal callers. There’s also a quality group of pass catchers, including Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze.

The offensive line class is similarly stout, Fontenot said, and Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt has been projected as a potential top-seven pick.

As a result, Atlanta’s staring down a high likelihood of having its choice of the draft’s top defensive players – who just so happen to be pass rushers and corners.

The Falcons have held official visits with Alabama outside linebacker Dallas Turner and Florida State defensive Jared Verse, and they hosted a formal meeting with UCLA edge defender Laiatu Latu at the NFL Combine.

Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II has gained late steam as a candidate at No. 8, with the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year  being linked to the Falcons by multiple outlets.

In the secondary, Atlanta welcomed three of the top cover corners – Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell and the Alabama duo of Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry – to Flowery Branch for official visits.

Some, like Latu (neck) and McKinstry (hamstring), have injury questions. Fontenot said exhaustive meetings go into evaluating medicals, a process that begins at the combine and continues into their official visits.

It’s lengthy, but one of the most important parts of the process – and particularly critical as Latu is a significant part of the Falcons’ draft equation.

“It’s all risk assessment,” Fontenot said. “You have to look at that player’s makeup. ‘Okay, this is the medical grade, this is what we expect of this player, this is the medical.’ It’s a weighing process.”

Atlanta will once again abide by its “best player available” strategy – but Fontenot stressed it’s the best player on the Falcons’ board, not the national media’s consensus.

The Falcons stack players into categories, ranging from impact players, elite players, solid starters, functional starters, role players and developmental pieces.

These stacks, also referred to as buckets, feature players from several positions, with Fontenot saying he’ll put a priority on premiere positions like pass rushers and cornerbacks.

And there figures to be plenty of premiere pass rushers staring the Falcons in the eye at No. 8, extending far beyond the edge variety.

“Some good pass rushers, not just at outside linebacker – there’s defensive ends, defensive tackles,” Fontenot said. “There’s some good pass rushers in this draft. There’s different types – guys that win with power, guys that win more with speed, well-rounded players, versatile players.”

Still, for Fontenot, who’s selected an offensive weapon in the top 10 in each of the past three years, the question remains whether he’ll be able to pass should either Nabers or Odunze slide.

The 43-year-old Fontenot isn’t close-minded. He stressed the need to look at things from the bigger picture, keeping the future of the organization in his peripheral when making decisions.

And so, should such a situation arise where the top wideouts fall, perhaps Fontenot bites.

“Some really good players could be staring at us, and if you’ve got this impact dude right here that we know is going to make a difference, and we’ve got more of a need down here, let’s get this dude,” Fontenot said, motioning to his top hand over his bottom.

“You’re getting them for the next five years, and you look back a couple years from now and say, ‘Why didn’t we take this guy? He could really help us right now.’”

But with the way the Falcons stack their board and the projections for which prospects go off the board and when, that scenario seems unlikely.

And if the premiere positions Fontenot mentioned – cornerback and pass rusher – are available within the same stack as the highly touted wideouts, Atlanta’s decision has already been made.

“If we believe we have an impact player at this position, this position, that position, and this is a need position at a premiere position, than we’re going to stick with that,” Fontenot said.

The Falcons went offense-heavy in free agency, signing quarterback Kirk Cousins and receiver Darnell Mooney, among others.

They won’t ignore the offense in the draft, as Fontenot mentioned the team could select both an offensive lineman and a quarterback.

But at least at No. 8, defense appears to be the heavy favorite – with pass rush and corner help once again emerging as the Falcons’ top priority.