2020 NFL Draft: Atlanta Falcons 7-round mock
By John Buhler
Third Round
Pick Analysis. 78. Scouting Report. LSU Tigers. Clyde Edwards-Helaire. player. 817. RB
This has the potential to be the best pick Atlanta makes in the entire draft. Even though the Falcons have Todd Gurley as the starter with quality pieces baking him up in Ito Smith, Brian Hill, Qadree Ollison and Craig Reynolds, if LSU Tigers running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is still on the board at No. 78 in the third-round, you have no other choice but to draft this guy.
Edwards-Helaire was part of one of the greatest single-season teams in college football history. He was the bell-cow playing behind Joe Burrow on the reigning national champions. Edwards-Helaire rushed for 1,414 yards on 215 carries for a ridiculous 16 touchdowns. He also had an impressive 55 catches for 453 yards and a receiving touchdown out of the LSU backfield.
How is Edwards-Helaire not going higher than in the third round? Who knows, but that will be to the advantage of a team like the Falcons who are in need of a high-end complementary running back in 2020. He could become their bell-cow if the Gurley experiment doesn’t pan out. He’ll provide the value in the third round and the production of guys taken ahead of him in the draft.
Atlanta has had great success in recent years by taking running backs in the middle rounds. Devonta Freeman was a former fourth-round pick out of Florida State, while Tevin Coleman was a former third-round pick out of Indiana. Edwards-Helaire is every bit as good as they were coming out of college. This is the pick that gives Atlanta one of the most explosive offensives in football.