Will Atlanta Falcons be Buyers at NFL Trade Deadline?

An ESPN analyst argued the Atlanta Falcons may not be active at the NFL trade deadline.

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It seems like a no-brainer that the Atlanta Falcons will acquire an edge rusher before the NFL trade deadline. The Falcons are tied for first place in the NFC South, but they aren't really a serious Super Bowl contender with their current pass rush.

Atlanta is last in the NFL with six sacks through seven weeks.

But ESPN's Dan Graziano argued that he doesn't see the Falcons being very aggressive on the NFL trade market prior to the Nov. 5 deadline. When proposed with the question of whether the Falcons will be "adding, subtracting or sitting it out" on trade deadline frenzy, Graziano predicted the Falcons to sit out.

"The Falcons are primed for a run and would look to add, but remember, they already jumped the gun on the trade deadline right before the season with the signing of safety Justin Simmons and the trade for edge rusher Matthew Judon," Graziano wrote. "The Judon trade cost them their 2025 third-round pick, which of course makes it tougher for them to do deals this month."

Justin Simmons has been a great addition for the Falcons. The problem, though, is Matthew Judon is playing some of the worst football of his career. The 4-time Pro Bowler has 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hits and 2 pass defenses in seven games.

Judon reached double digits in sacks the last two campaigns he was completely healthy in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he had 4 sacks in just four games.

Unless Judon has a clear breakout performance this Sunday, the Falcons should not be predicting the 32-year-old to be an elite edge rusher again this season. So, adding another pass rush makes a lot of sense.

But to Graziano's point, not having a 2025 third-round pick, because they gave it up for Judon, makes a trade at the deadline tougher to do. The Falcons also only have four draft picks remaining in the 2025 draft class.

Perhaps the Falcons can make a trade involving one of their own players. But that's tricky when a team wants to keep all of their depth for their own playoff run. The only player that has value on Atlanta's bench is quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Since he was the No. 8 selection in the 2024 draft class, Penix is probably off limits to teams through a trade this fall.