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NFL Draft Rumors: Atlanta Falcons may trade down from No. 6 pick

By Josh Hill

November 11, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; An Atlanta Falcons helmet prior to kickoff of a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
November 11, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; An Atlanta Falcons helmet prior to kickoff of a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s now abundantly clear that the Atlanta Falcons will most likely not remain at the No. 6 pick next week and whenever they make a selection it will be in a different slot. That hardly solves the draft day mystery that the Falcons have become as while trading up seems the most likely option, the team has said that trading down isn’t that crazy an idea to consider either.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, the man responsible for giving the Falcons their draft day edginess, has been dropping a lot of subtle and not so sublet hints that the team is going to move up and take Jadeveon Clowney. But today he told Falcons beat writer Vaughn McClure that trading down is an option — pause for laughter.

The idea of the Falcons trading down, while worth mildly considering, is generally a laughable idea. The team is in the win-now business and trading up to get Jadeveon Clowney is the type of muscle flexing move the Falcons make, not trading back to build through the draft.

Still, if the Falcons are unable to move up — which is a possibility we need to take into account — trading back from No. 6 and getting picks to then make a surge in the second half of the round or to pick up some second round picks seems like a reasonable option.

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