Falcons Trade Up with Cardinals For QB at No. 3? Or Build Around Desmond Ridder?

The Arizona Cardinals could look to trade the No. 3 pick. Are the Atlanta Falcons a candidate to move up?

The Atlanta Falcons are just a few days away from the NFL Draft and there is a very good chance the team walks away from the weekend without adding a quarterback.

However, despite the team's multiple declarations of Desmond Ridder as the franchise quarterback, there's always a small chance the Falcons could go back on that if the signal-caller they want is within reach.

NFL.com suggested a trade scenario where the Falcons give up their first three picks in the draft and a 2024 fourth-round pick for the No. 3 overall selection, which currently belongs to the Arizona Cardinals.

"Atlanta has publicly talked about 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder being the guy under center, but if the opportunity to select the second quarterback in the draft presented itself, it would seem hard to pass up, given the very smart offseason acquisitions, along with third-year coach Arthur Smith being an exceptional architect for the play-action game," NFL.com writes.

This is not the scenario we are envisioning, as a source tells FalconReport.com that what the Falcons are "working on'' is a trade back from pick No. 8. But ... NFL.com believes it's a "win-win" scenario for both the Cardinals and Falcons. The theory: The Cardinals are still able to take a top defensive prospect while also acquiring an additional second- and third-round pick in the draft. And the Falcons get a franchise quarterback that elevates their ceiling for the upcoming season and puts them further in the race for the NFC South.

We'd prefer the idea to be more "pinpointed.'' Bryce Young will be gone. So Atlanta wants "the second quarterback in the draft,'' whomever that might be? Will Levis or CJ Stroud or Anthony Richardson ... whichever one?

It's hard to see the Falcons take a deal like this, especially given how loyal they've been to Ridder. Is there a QB in this draft that the Falcons love this much? And we will suggest ... If they wanted to trade up for a quarterback, dealing for Lamar Jackson might have made more sense. 

We believe Atlanta wants to give Ridder a chance this year - he hasn't deserved anything less - and sacrificing even more draft capital to go back on that "promise'' to its second-year quarterback would not reflect the decisions the team has made to build a culture in the first half of the offseason. We say the odds are that the Falcons make moves on Thursday night to build around Ridder in a way that gives Atlanta "the best offensive weaponry in the NFC South.''

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You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

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