NFL Mock Draft: Falcons Go QB or Defense?

The Atlanta Falcons can go in a number of different directions for this year's first-round pick in the NFL Draft.

For the third year in a row, the Atlanta Falcons have the eighth overall pick in the NFL Draft. 

It doesn't appear likely, however, that general manager Terry Fontenot will make it three years in a row picking a skill-position player at No. 8.

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ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. released his first 2024 NFL Mock Draft this week, and has the Falcons addressing their pressing need at edge rusher, going with Alabama outside linebacker Dallas Turner. 

"Let's move to the other side of the ball, where the Falcons ranked 32nd in pass rush win rate (30.9%) and 29th in takeaways (16)," Kiper wrote. "Veterans Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree led the team with 6.5 sacks apiece. This is a front seven that needs an injection of youth. With Turner, they'd get the best edge defender in this class, a 242-pound outside linebacker who had 22.5 sacks over three college seasons. He ranked eighth in the FBS with a 16.7% pressure rate in 2023." 

Obviously, priority No. 1 for the Falcons this offseason will be finding an answer at quarterback, because there's enough evidence that they don't have it internally with Desmond Ridder. At the same time, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels will almost certainly be off the board by this point, and this may be too early to take Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix or J.J. McCarthy. 

Desperate for their next franchise quarterback, maybe Atlanta will reach at No. 8, or move down a few picks and select one of Penix, Nix or McCarthy. But for as important as figuring out quarterback is this offseason for the Falcons, this is a team that probably needs to add multiple pass rushers. It would hardly be a luxury pick to use the eighth pick on a player like Turner. 

Turner, set to turn 21 in February, is 6-foot-4, 242 pounds. He was a five-star recruit coming out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and panned out nicely for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. In his final season at Alabama, Turner was voted First-Team All-SEC, a consensus All-American and the SEC co-Defensive Player of the Year. Not only did he have 10 sacks in 2023, but he added 14.5 tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles.

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As Kiper noted, 37-year-old Calais Campbell and 30-year-old Bud Dupree finished in a tie for the team lead in sacks at just 6.5 in 2023. Both can become free agents this offseason. New coach Raheem Morris did a tremendous job developing rookie edge rusher Byron Young as the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator, and would likely salivate at the possibility of landing a blue-chip talent like Turner to headline his pass rush.