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2020 NFL Draft: 5 players Falcons could take in Round 1

By Rucker Haringey

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - NOVEMBER 16: K'Lavon Chaisson #18 of the LSU Tigers in action during a game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - NOVEMBER 16: K'Lavon Chaisson #18 of the LSU Tigers in action during a game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Xavier McKinney (Photo by Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Xavier McKinney (Photo by Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Xavier McKinney, Alabama safety

If the Falcons want to go with a more traditional option at safety they could opt for McKinney over Delpit. He’s probably the safer choice, but he doesn’t possess as much upside as his SEC West mate.

McKinney excels at reading the game from the final third. His mental acumen allows him to get in good positions to make plays on the football. He’ll never excel in terms of athletic testing, but he’s not going to take many superfluous steps on the field either.

Drafting McKinney would allow the Falcons to give Keanu Neal more freedom at the safety position. McKinney can hold things down in the deep third while Neal wreaks havoc closer to the line of scrimmage. That may be a strange way to calculate a value for a first-rounder, but it’s the way McKinney can help Atlanta the most.

The Falcons could certainly take a bigger swing at No. 16, but McKinney would be a good bet to help them win games in 2020. He’d be a vanilla choice, but vanilla is a helpful ingredient in a lot of tasty dishes.

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