With the draft a week away, a lot of teams are circling the waters looking to potentially move up.
One of those teams is the Atlanta Falcons, who are looking to move up from the 16th pick. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Atlanta has spent a lot of time evaluating and talking to players who figure to be gone by pick 16. Rapoport added that those around the NFL believe Atlanta will be on the move.
The Jets could be among the teams that Atlanta is looking to make a deal with, according to NFL insider Benjamin Allbright. Allbright reports that the 10th pick, held by the Cleveland Browns, and the Jets’ 11th pick is being eyed by the Falcons. They’ve been linked to South Carolina IDL Javon Kinlaw and Florida CB C.J. Henderson in such a situation.
The Falcons haven’t been afraid to move their way up in past drafts under GM Thomas Dimitroff. Since 2008, Dimitroff has traded up five times in the first round, acquiring the likes of Julio Jones, Desmond Trufant and Takkarist McKinley. In that same time frame, the Jets have moved up three times but have been gun shy about trading back.
To move back five slots, the Jets would need an extensive offer. With many holes on the current roster, however, New York may want to go beyond its eight draft picks to ensure that Sam Darnold will have a formidable supporting cast.
Of course, that conversation to trade back becomes much easier if all four top offensive tackles are off the board. However, if the Jets are hoping to land one of the top three wideouts in a trade back scenario, they would certainly be playing with fire.