Falcons must fix Vic Beasley folly in first round of 2020 NFL Draft

The Atlanta Falcons need to draft the best defensive front-seven player it can in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to replace Vic Beasley Jr.

After five disappointing years, the Atlanta Falcons must replace outside linebacker Vic Beasley Jr.

Beasley was Falcons head coach Dan Quinn’s first first-round pick back in 2015. Despite being an All-American at nearby Clemson University, Beasley never emerged as the consistent pass-rushing superstar the Falcons envisioned. While he was First-Team All-Pro in 2016 with a league-leading 15.5 sacks, he only had 37.5 in 78 career games with the Dirty Birds over five seasons.

Atlanta already announced Beasley will not return to the Falcons on a new contract. Could it have been a bad scheme fit? Maybe Atlanta couldn’t put him in the right situation to succeed? Or maybe he didn’t have the physicality or motor to be worthy of the top-10 pick Atlanta used on him back in 2015?

Either way, Atlanta must replace Beasley with the best defensive front-seven player possible in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. What kind of players could Atlanta look to land at No. 16 in the first round?

Since Atlanta is in cap space hell, the Falcons have to crush it in the upcoming draft. Defensive linemen like LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson and South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw could be in the Falcons’ range at No. 16. So could Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray, who has a lot of the quick-speed traits Quinn loves to have in his defense. Could you imagine him playing next to Deion Jones?

Overall, it has been the pass rush that has been the Falcons’ kryptonite for much of the last decade. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett has been sensational in the middle of the defensive front, but Jessie Tuggle‘s son plays defensive tackle, not defensive end or outside linebacker, the positions Atlanta really needs to get some sort of production out of.

Defensive end Adrian Clayborn has been a consistent pass rusher for much of the Quinn era in Flowery Branch. Though he only has one great pass-rushing move, he’s always capable to get a defense a handful of sacks with his patented swim move. 2020 is also a critical year for another first-round pick in Takkarist McKinley, who Atlanta traded up for in the 2017 NFL Draft.

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While McKinley must step up, Beasley was often seen as the scapegoat for Atlanta’s pass-rushing woes. While Atlanta’s defense greatly improved in the second half once Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich took over play-calling from Quinn, Atlanta has no choice but to rectify its pass-rushing issues in the first-round. They need a guy who can do what Beasley couldn’t do consistently.