The Falcons had the best pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but their night may have been even more shocking.
As shown in the Jets article, Atlanta called the Jets to see if they would trade Gang Green for the No. 10 draft pick. Behind-the-scenes video of the draft.
The Falcons hope to acquire Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for a second top-10 pick in combination with the No. 8 pick, the draft’s most controversial pick. was.
“Obviously we had some guys trying to get back to the first team,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said. According to the team’s website.
One of the biggest criticisms of Atlanta’s acquisition of Penix was that it did nothing to strengthen a roster that is expected to win this year after adding quarterback Kirk Cousins.
But looking at the Jets video, it looks like Atlanta was trying to do that.
The Atlanta-centric portion begins after Jets general manager Joe Douglas tells his staff that No. 7 Tennessee will select offensive tackle JT Latham.
The timestamp on the video is 8:50 PM ET.
Two minutes later, Douglas talked about the eventual trade with the Vikings, and Atlanta was mentioned for the first time at 8:55 p.m., though Tennessee was still in the game at this point.
“They said they definitely picked it,” Douglas said, looking at her phone.
“Was that in Atlanta?” an unidentified person asked.
“Yes, Atlanta,” Douglas replied.
The person then said, “They’re going to…” and the audio appears to cut out, but the Jets’ caption says the person asked if Atlanta would acquire the defender.
“They want to get back to No. 10, so they want No. 8 and No. 10,” Douglas said.
The video then shows Tennessee actually acquiring an offensive lineman and the room being informed that the Falcons are on time.
Atlanta used that pick to select Penix, the Bears took receiver Roma Odunze with the ninth pick, and the Vikings took quarterback JJ McCarthy with the 10th pick, which they acquired from the Jets.
The Jets, currently ranked 11th, have acquired offensive lineman Olu Fashanu from Penn State.
Atlanta didn’t go back to the first round, but moved up to the second round by drafting Clemson defensive tackle Luke Oluholo in a trade with the Cardinals.
The Falcons article featuring Fontenot’s quote mentioned cornerback potential, but the starting defensive back lasted until the No. 22 pick (Quinion Mitchell to the Eagles).
When the Colts selected pass rusher Laiatu Latu, their starting defenseman was taken off at No. 15.
