5 NFL teams that should trade for Joey Bosa

As of this moment, the Atlanta Falcons’ best pass rusher is the aging Dwight Freeney. Freeney registered eight sacks for the Arizona Cardinals in 2015. Atlanta had fewer than 20 as a team.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank hired former Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to help turn around the most toothless pass rush in the NFL. Atlanta is still terrible in that regard, and will probably remain one of the worst pass-rushing teams this season. Given general manager Thomas Dimitroff’s inability to find a reliable pass rusher, whether in the NFL Draft or free agency, Atlanta might be willing to take a gamble and trade for a prospect like Bosa.

To be fair, Atlanta isn’t buttoned up enough as a franchise to deal with the kind of locker-room distractions that a player like Bosa could bring to the table. That said, in a division that features a trio of challenging quarterbacks in Drew Brees, Cam Newton, and Jameis Winston, Atlanta has to get its pass rush figured out.

Dimitroff has shown he’s more than willing to trade up if it means getting a player he wants. To that end, Atlanta could send the Chargers its 2017 first-rounder, gambling that the Falcons will wind up above .500 for the first time since 2012. Bosa may be too much of a project, but if Atlanta wants to go all in on its current offensive core, this might be a gambit worth taking.

Next: 3. Indianapolis Colts.