The Atlanta Falcons moved up to the No. 4 pick in next year’s draft following their Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Since the 2021 NFL Draft class is ripe with quarterback prospects, particularly in the top five, many are projecting the Falcons to select a new signal-caller.
Two of the top-five prospects, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State QB Justin Fields, faced off last night in the Sugar Bowl. Fields got the best of Lawrence, throwing for six touchdowns in a 49-28 Buckeyes victory.
In Touchdown Wire’s first mock draft of the year, Fields winds up in Atlanta as the third quarterback selected. Mark Schofield has BYU’s Zach Wilson going ahead of Fields, although that was before Fields’ dominant New Year’s Day performance. Here’s what Schofield had to say about the Falcons potentially drafting the OSU QB.
The Falcons are in a fascinating position. They can try to retool around players like Matt Ryan and Julio Jones and make a run at the playoffs in 2021, or they can focus more on life after those two cornerstone pieces. When an organization has the chance to make a top-five pick, sometimes it makes the most sense to grab a quarterback for the future, even if it does not intend on playing him right away. You hope to never be back picking here, so it makes sense to take advantage of the opportunity.
Fields is likely the player who is hurt the most by the rise of Zach Wilson, as that has led to a corresponding slide of the Ohio State passer from the No. 2 to No. 3 QB on some boards. Some might even point to a rather dismal record of Ohio State quarterbacks in the NFL as a reason to avoid drafting him, but Fields has the athleticism necessary to succeed as a quarterback in the modern NFL. When he’s ready, Atlanta will be glad they made him the selection.
The Falcons have Matt Ryan under contract for a few more years and as he showed last weekend in Kansas City, he’s still capable of playing at a high level. Ryan outplayed Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, but Atlanta missed a field goal that would have sent the game to overtime.
Ryan has thrown for 4,316 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a passer rating of 93.0 this season. If Fields does end up in Atlanta in 2021, it’s likely he sits behind Ryan for a year at the least.
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