We’ve now reached the point in the draft where teams have a chance to find the one final piece to a championship. The Atlanta Falcons reached the Super Bowl two years ago and after a 10-6 campaign in 2017, went to the NFC Divisional round before falling just short against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
In the offseason, general manager Thomas Dimitroff allowed Dontari Poe and Adrian Clayborn to leave in free agency due to a tight cap situation, setting up the team’s largest need going into the draft. While the rookie class has some intriguing EDGE rushers in a 4-3 scheme, the best usage of this pick, with this board, is snagging Taven Bryan.
Bryan came on slowly throughout his three years at the University of Florida, but proved himself worthy of first-round consideration. The former Gators star notched 37 tackles, six for loss, and four sacks last year on a struggling Florida team, proving to be one of the bright spots in an otherwise dismal season.
The Falcons could use his ability to shore up the run defense while providing a little bit of push against the pass. Atlanta will mostly rely on Vic Beasley Jr. and Takk McKinley to apply most of the pass rush, but the presence of Bryan doesn’t hurt in a division with terrific quarterbacks.