GM: Falcons hope to come out of draft with a QB

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons are out there for a quarterback.

This does not imply the crew will take one with the eighth choose within the draft Thursday and even Friday on Day 2, however normal supervisor Terry Fontenot made it clear Tuesday: The Falcons are usually not finished exploring the concept of including one other signal-caller to their room.

It will not essentially add a starter, however the crew needs to have greater than Marcus Mariota and Feleipe Franks as choices on the place.

“We’re not going to provide away what we will do at eight or another choose, however we might come out of this draft with a quarterback,” Fontenot mentioned. “We need to add to that room and we’ll see what occurs.”

Atlanta entered the quarterback dialogue extra totally in March, after the crew tried to pursue Deshaun Watson when he was being shopped and finally traded from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns.

As a part of that course of, quarterback Matt Ryan, who was nonetheless with Atlanta, at first delayed the roster bonus that was as a result of him by the Falcons after which was traded to the Indianapolis Colts. The identical day, the membership signed Mariota — the No. 2 choose within the 2015 draft by the Tennessee Titans — to a minimum of change Ryan within the quick time period.

Ryan had been Atlanta’s quarterback since being the No. 3 total choose within the 2008 draft. He began 222 video games for the Falcons, finishing 65.5% of his passes for 59,735 yards, 367 touchdowns and 170 interceptions, and was named the MVP of the 2016 NFL season.

Fontenot mentioned the crew spent loads of time this yr’s quarterback class in addition to the one from 2021, when the crew didn’t choose a signal-caller and signed Franks as an undrafted free agent. Franks made the crew out of coaching camp and spent the season as a backup to Ryan in addition to experimenting with enjoying tight finish.

Atlanta had a presence at a lot of the professional days for the highest quarterbacks on this yr’s class, together with Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, Liberty’s Malik Willis and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder.

Fontenot mentioned the primary spherical is especially robust to forecast this yr due to the questions surrounding the quarterbacks. Final yr, as an example, Fontenot mentioned he felt as if Atlanta had the primary choose within the draft at No. 4 due to the robust sense that the primary three picks could be quarterbacks, which they had been when Trevor Lawrence went to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Zach Wilson to the New York Jets after which Trey Lance to the San Francisco 49ers.

This yr has extra intrigue.

“It truly is troublesome to foretell,” Fontenot mentioned. “This can be a very distinctive draft.”

Fontenot would not particularly tackle whether or not he believes there are starting-caliber quarterbacks on this class, although he mentioned there are future starters at each place.

“Proper now we consider the gamers,” Fontenot mentioned. “In fact there’s going to be starters that come out of this class. We can’t know that till three or 4 years from now with a few of the gamers. At each place, there’s starters, there’s backups.”

He additionally mentioned Atlanta’s scouting workers has checked out courses past simply 2022.

He mentioned he’s residing “within the second” with regards to the draft whereas additionally trying on the huge image, though he mentioned the Falcons aren’t specializing in who might or might not be focused in 2023 if want be as a result of a lot can change in a yr.

Fontenot additionally mentioned he wouldn’t be disillusioned if the crew finally ends up bypassing a quarterback altogether within the 2022 draft as a result of there are different methods so as to add to the place. As an example, Atlanta signed AJ McCarron to again up Ryan on the Friday of final yr’s draft after not choosing a quarterback in the course of the first spherical.

“It might be within the draft. It might be after the draft. It might be by way of commerce,” Fontenot mentioned. “We’re not going to restrict ourselves to any risk. We will flip over each stone and whether or not it is within the draft or not, we’ll add to that room.”

Coach Arthur Smith mentioned he has extra enter on when the Falcons might or might not take a quarterback due to the gravity of the choice to the development of the crew. In the end, the choice could be collaborative between Fontenot and Smith.

“That is the one factor about soccer, particularly skilled soccer, it is such an unlimited choice to make,” Smith mentioned. “Particularly if you are going to make investments, it is an important place in skilled sports activities.

“For higher or worse, the NFL and that place, it is extraordinarily vital to make this factor go, so yeah, you are it. It is an enormous funding.”