Scenario Exists Where Falcons Trade Edge Rusher, Not Acquire One

Could the Atlanta Falcons use their edge rushing depth to acquire another offensive weapon rather solidify the team's pass rush?

Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Zach Harrison / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

To a lot of fans, it makes the most sense for NFL teams to build the most complete roster possible. But that's always how general managers and league insiders see it.

Sometimes, a team has its strengths, and the best path of victory is to play to those strengths.

The Atlanta Falcons have begun to play well offensively over the past month. To make a deep playoff run, ESPN's Seth Walder argued Wednesday that it could make the most sense for the Falcons to add a piece before the trade deadline that makes their offensive even better.

"Defense might look like the logical spot for Atlanta to upgrade, but if you're going to go on a deep run with Kirk Cousins -- and presumably that was the point of bringing him in -- you're going to need to surround his side of the ball with talent, too," wrote Walder.

The ESPN analyst proposed Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk as a potential trade target for the Falcons. Walder called Kirk an "upgrade" over Falcons current slot receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III and argued that he would give the Falcons "a pretty impressive set of playmakers."

With Jacksonville 2-5, one would assume the Jaguars would be seeking a draft pick in return for Kirk. But ESPN's Benjamin Solak had another hypothetical.

Solak named Falcons edge rusher Zach Harrison a player the Jaguars should target before the trade deadline. Such a trade would reunite Harrison with former Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen.

"The Jaguars likely won't be acquiring anybody at this year's trade deadline, but I suppose Harrison is a fine target. A 2023 third-round selection, Harrison fit in the Ryan Nielsen defense in Atlanta," Solak wrote. "But now that Nielsen is in Jacksonville, Harrison has fallen to 12th in front-seven snaps (85) for Raheem Morris' defense. I imagine he'd cost little for the Jaguars, who have worryingly thin edge rusher depth behind Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen."

Walder and Solak didn't really connect the dots on their two trade ideas involving the Falcons and Jaguars. But if a reader did, the Worldwide Leader in Sports seemed to suggest the two teams could pull of a trade involving Kirk and Harrison. Draft picks would probably exchange hands on both sides too.

From the Falcons' perspective, it would be great to add Kirk. His presence could take the Atlanta offense to another level.

But it's an odd proposal, nonetheless, because it would not only mean the Falcons don't add an edge rusher at the trade deadline, but they'd lose one instead.

As Solak noted, Harrison isn't an edge rusher the Falcons are really using this season, but he was a third-round pick just a year ago. He's also played in some capacity during every game this season.

It's possible the Falcons could trade Harrison in a package to land Kirk and then turn around and land an edge rusher from another NFL team. But the Falcons only have three 2025 draft picks remaining.

Assuming both the Kirk trade and the second deal for an edge rusher both involve the Falcons trading draft picks, they may not have the capital necessary to make both deals happen.

For that reason, it might make the most sense for the Falcons to address the roster's biggest weakness. That's clearly edge rusher.

The question, though, is what makes sense to Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot. He has until the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 5 to decide.