Atlanta Falcons 7-Round 2020 NFL mock draft: Filling the holes

By going 6-2 in the back-half of the season, the Atlanta Falcons ended their season on a high note and Dan Quinn retained his job as head coach. The Atlanta Falcons are slotted to select sixteenth overall in the first round. What will they do in this 2020 NFL mock draft to attack their needs to get back over the hump?

The Atlanta Falcons started the season 1-7 with their only win coming in an ugly game against the Philadelphia Eagles where Julio Jones received the 54-yard go-ahead touchdown with 2:10 remaining in the game. After a convincing victory over the divisional rival New Orleans Saints in Week 10, the Falcons ended the season on a hot streak where they took down the Super Bowl contending San Francisco 49ers.

Falcons fans have been growing impatient with some of the team’s younger players: Vic Beasley and Takkarist McKinley. McKinley finished the season with only 3.5 sacks. Beasley came on strong at the end of the season finishing with 4.0 sacks in the final four games, but his inconsistencies throughout his career have been frustrating for Falcons faithful.

Beasley has talent, but a combination of bad utilization and inconsistencies of play concludes that it’s time to move on.

For the second year in a row, the Atlanta Falcons are slotted in the first round with the 16th overall pick. Last year, Thomas Dimitroff and the Falcons coaching staff invested in protecting Matt Ryan by taking guard Chris Lindstrom with their first-round selection and traded back into the first round to select tackle Kaleb McGary at 32nd overall.

Unfortunately, the two rookies’ seasons were littered with injuries. What is the identity of the team this year in the draft? I give my take on what the Atlanta Falcons should do in this 2020 NFL mock draft.

Note: This 2020 NFL mock draft was completed using The Draft Network’s Mock Draft Machine.