While recent reports have suggested the Bills are strongly considering a move up in the draft, and the Lions have also been frequently cited as a candidate to trade up, the Falcons are viewed as perhaps the most likely team to jump up into the top five. Atlanta has long been linked to South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney, and look like a natural trade partner for the Texans, who hold the first overall pick and don’t appear to have made a decision on their pick yet.
Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who is no stranger to blockbuster draft trades, spoke to reporters today about his club’s plans for that sixth overall pick, and dropped a few morsels of information. Dimitroff admitted he has talked trade with a few teams, and while he declined to identify those specific clubs, the GM said there have been some “interesting discussions” (Twitter links via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com).
Still, while Dimitroff certainly left the door open to the possibility of trading up, he didn’t give any signal that he’s leaning in that direction. The GM referred to this year’s top 10 prospects as “top-notch,” hinting that he’d be happy to end up with a player in the back half of that top 10 (Twitter link). He added that Atlanta has also explored the possibility of trading down from No. 6, and that the club “won’t sit on [its] hands” when it comes to landing the player it wants (Twitter links).
It’s a little tricky to separate the signal from the noise in Dimitroff’s comments, but it sounds like plenty of options are still in play for the Falcons. If the price is right, I could see the team moving up to snag Clowney, but landing an offensive tackle such as Greg Robinson, Jake Matthews, or Taylor Lewan – either at No. 6 or lower – seems like a feasible option as well. For what it’s worth, Dimitroff said he doesn’t expect to complete a “massive deal” before the draft, though that doesn’t necessarily preclude a major trade on draft night (Twitter link).
So what do you think? Will the Falcons make another big splash on draft night, like they did three years ago when they moved up to land Julio Jones, or will the team take a quieter approach this time around?