Complete seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft for the Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons have taken early picks on pass rushers in previous years and it has not paid off like they would have hoped. They selected Vic Beasley in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, who had a phenomenal rookie season but his stats fell off mightily after. Beasley is now a member of the Tennessee Titans after spending five seasons in Atlanta.

Then in 2017, the Falcons took Takkarist McKinley in the first round with the 26th overall selection. The Falcons have declined to pick up McKinley’s fifth-year option which means he will become a free agent after the 2020 season.

Now back to the Falcons pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. With the 47th overall selection, they take Terrell Lewis from the Alabama Crimson Tide. Lewis is a versatile prospect who could play linebacker or defensive end in Dan Quinn’s system but linebacker is where I believe he will benefit the most at the next level.

The defense is starting to shape up well after the first two selections in the 2020 NFL Draft along with free-agent acquisition Dante Fowler Jr. Fowler was taken in the same draft as Beasley but at third overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is coming off a monster season in 2019 with the Rams hitting doubt-digits in the sack column with 11.5 total.

Fowler, Jarrett, Kinlaw, and McKinley on the defensive line and then Lewis, Deion Jones, and Foye Oluokun all in the starting linebacker spots in 2020 will help this defense come to life.

After releasing Desmond Trufant, cornerback is a major need for the Atlanta Falcons. I expect head coach Dan Quinn to give 2018 second-rounder Isaiah Oliver the role Trufant has held as the number one cornerback.

Bryce Hall out of Virginia would be the perfect corner to play opposite of Oliver and he is available here in the third round. What I really like about Hall is his physicality and how he goes up against any receiver, big or small, and uses his hands to defend the pass.

I believe Hall is a first-round talent, but due to his ankle injury that sidelined him halfway threw his senior season, he is expected to fall anywhere between the end of the second round to the beginning of the fourth round. He is expected to be fully healthy by the time training camp rolls around and would be a day one starter once the season kicks off for the Falcons.

Having Oliver and Hall as their starting cornerbacks would make 2019 draftees Kendall Sheffield and Jordan Miller to compete to be their backups. The Falcons also have veteran Blidi Wreh-Wilson who was brought back on a one-year deal for depth.