NFL rumors: 5 teams that should hope Jalen Carter’s stock keeps falling
By John Buhler
NFC. South. Atlanta Falcons. 44. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 8. player
The Atlanta Falcons would be so stupid to not take a Georgia star at No. 8
The Atlanta Falcons have only recently learned if you draft more Dawgs, your team will be better. Where the nearby Dirty Birds are picking, they can take either Carter or his defensive front-seven teammate in edge rusher Nolan Smith. Although Smith may be exactly what they are looking for from a leadership standpoint and a guy with a ton of bend, Carter can be a total game-wrecker.
You have to ask yourself this one question if you are Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot: Do you want Carter to blow stuff up for you or not? Atlanta does have the most underrated defensive tackle in the game in Grady Jarrett, but he is not a young man anymore. Conversely, the Falcons have seen for years what happens when you cannot block the likes of a Cameron Jordan up front.
Fontenot may try to convince us that he could take a quarterback at No. 8, but we are just not buying it. Furthermore, taking the best defensive player available should be the easiest and most logical thing for the Falcons to do at this point in their rebuilding process. The great debate is if defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen prefers Smith coming off the edge or Carter blowing stuff up.
You can get into a lot of trouble in Atlanta, and this may be a pressure-packed situation for Carter.