2018 NFL Mock Draft: Browns land Baker Mayfield

With Dontari Poe, Adrian Clayborn and Ahtyba Rubin scheduled to hit free agency, the Falcons look to replenish the interior of the defensive line with the selection of Alabama’s Da’Ron Payne with the 26th overall pick.

Grady Jarrett has already cemented himself as one of the best interior players in the league, but head coach Dan Quinn knows he won’t be able to do it all on his own with the potential departures of Poe and Clayborn. At 6-foot-2 and 308 pounds, Payne is built exactly like his last name would imply and his run-stuffing ability is among the best in the class.

Payne plays with outstanding technique and understanding of leverage, typical of the type of defensive lineman we have grown so accustomed to seeing come out of the Crimson Tide Program. He doesn’t have the same quick-twitch, short-area quickness as some of the other tackles in this class but Jarrett and last year’s first-round pick Takk McKinley could help to provide that desired pass rush from their positions with Payne serving as a bonafide run-stuffer in the middle.

With Takk McKinley’s continued development and the emergency of Grady Jarrett, adding Da’Ron Payne to the Falcons’ defensive line rotation would make it one of the very best in the NFL.