2021 NFL Draft: Which teams would pass on Trevor Lawrence?
NFC South. . 44. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 0-3. Atlanta Falcons. player
The Atlanta Falcons are the current leaders in the NFL for the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Because Matt Ryan is 35 and the team is not winning games, it’s easy to think the Falcons would use the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Lawrence.
And they still might if they earn that particular selection.
With that said, it’s hard to make the financial part of this all add up. The Falcons are married to Ryan for at least another couple of years unless they want to pay him more than $30 million not to play for them.
The Falcons had better hope Ryan is able to turn the ship around quickly in Atlanta, because he’s got a dead cap charge of nearly $50 million in 2021 and over $26.5 million in 2022.
The Falcons could simply decide they don’t care and take Lawrence anyway, trading Ryan to the highest bidder, but the amount of dead money it would cost them is likely far too substantial.
I hesitated somewhat to put Atlanta on this list because it would be tough to pass on Lawrence with an aging Matt Ryan, but the financial piece of it is hard to ignore.