NFL Draft rumors: Atlanta Falcons drafting Justin Fields chatter is heating up

Ohio State football star Justin Fields could end up playing for his hometown Atlanta Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons either really want former Ohio State football star Justin Fields at No. 4 or they are creating one heck of an elaborate smoke screen ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Atlanta will reportedly send three new employees to Fields’ second pro day at Columbus. During his first pro day, Atlanta had new head coach Arthur Smith, new general manager Terry Fontenot and new offensive coordinator Dave Ragone all in attendance. For this pro day, they are sending wide receivers coach Dave Brock, new quarterbacks coach Charles London and a college scout.

With six pairs of eyes on the Kennesaw, Georgia native, will the Falcons take Fields at No. 4?

Will the Falcons take Justin Fields in the NFL Draft or get Matt Ryan a weapon?

With the three teams picking ahead of the Falcons this spring (Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers) all expected to go quarterback one-two-three, the Dirty Birds are in a very precarious spot. Quarterbacks like Fields and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance are likely to be on the board when Atlanta is picking. However, the Falcons still have Matt Ryan as their quarterback.

Simply put, we are not going to know what Atlanta’s draft plans are until San Francisco has made its selection at No. 3. Expect the Falcons to field calls for the No. 4 overall pick with teams like the Denver Broncos, the New England Patriots or even the Washington Football Team. Atlanta has so many other issues to address besides finding Ryan’s eventual successor for maybe 2023 or so.

If the Falcons were to take a quarterback, Fields would be well-received by some legions of Dirty Bird Nation. He is the native son and played his freshman season of college ball up the road in Athens for Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. However, Fields will inevitably push for playing time by the end of his rookie season if he were to go to Atlanta. Ryan is still a top-10 passer in the league.

Ultimately, this feels like a well-designed smokescreen by the Falcons’ brass. Smith won a ton of games with Ryan Tannehill as his quarterback when he was the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. Fontenot has seen Ryan twice annually for a decade when he was in the arch-rival New Orleans Saints’ front office. While Ragone is new, Brock has been in Atlanta for years.

What Atlanta really needs to do is either take the best player available at No. 4 in all-world tight end Kyle Pitts out of Florida or orchestrate a trade with Denver to move back to No. 9 and pick either Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II or Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons. Atlanta can get an immediate starter who can become a Pro Bowler, as well as Denver’s 2022 first-round pick.

While Fields could be the pick at No. 4 for Atlanta, it feels like a smokescreen more than anything.