2024 NFL Mock Draft: Atlanta Falcons full 7-round projection in early-February

Round 3, Pick 74: Caelan Carson, Cornerback, Wake Forest

The Falcons need to draft a cornerback early, either to replace AJ Terrell in 2025 or to complement him. Wake Forest cornerback Caelan Carson is the perfect compliment. He is more of a run-stuffing corner, while Terrell plays more of a lockdown corner. Carson is 6-0 and 195 pounds. He compares to Shaun Wade from Ohio State.

Carson played 11 games last year for the Demon Deacons and was on the field for 650 snaps. He had 45 total tackles and 11 stops. He had 4 pass break-ups but did not intercept the ball once. Carson does a good job with his hands defending throws, as to avoid flags. He hits hard for someone his size, and he shows good awareness playing zone coverage.

Carson does get lazy at times and tries to make too many flashy plays. He gives up a lot of big plays in the passing game, so he will need a good deal of coaching to reach his full potential.

Round 4, Pick 109: Darius Robinson, Edge, Missouri

The Falcons were 21st in the league in sacks last season. This lack of pressure gave quarterbacks more time to throw and led to them having a 90.3 passer rating versus Atlanta. With the potential to lose 3 defensive ends in the off-season, and possibly cut Grady Jarrett, they need help on the edge in a big way.

In the fourth round of the draft, they select Missouri edge rusher Darius Robinson. Robinson has good length for an edge, standing 6-5 and weighing 286 pounds. His forty time will likely be somewhere between 4.70 and 4.80 seconds. In 2023 at Missouri, he played 466 snaps and racked up 36 total pressures, including 22 hurries and 8 sacks.

Robinson shows violent hands and a great bull rush from the outside. He plays with a high motor and would excel as a pass rusher, run stuffer, or both for the Falcons. Robinson has a slow spin move and would need to add a couple more countermoves as well to get to the quarterback more consistently. He does need to use strength better to shed blockers in the run game.