In their first season under new coach Raheem Morris, the Atlanta Falcons intend to make the postseason despite a seven-year playoff drought. Terry Fontenot, the general manager, understands how critical it is that the team locates a franchise quarterback this summer for just this reason.
Not only do the Falcons do that in a new CBS Sports mock draft, they also trade with the New England Patriots to get the third overall choice.
CBS Sports predicted that the Falcons would choose LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels, the current Heisman Trophy winner, with their newly acquired No. 3 choice.
The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner has started 55 games as a starter (29 at Arizona State and 26 at LSU), and he used that experience to make history by being the only player in FBS history to have more than 3,000 career rushing yards and more than 12,000 career passing yards, according to CBS Sports. “He also became the only FBS player since the turn of the 21st century to average over 300 passing yards per game and 75 or more rushing yards per game in a season this past year.”
The Falcons’ offense appears to be ready for the next franchise quarterback on paper because of Fontenot and company’s meticulous rebuilding approach over the past few years. The fact that the team has had three top-10 NFL Draft selections that have developed into weapons—Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson—is one of the few benefits of missing the postseason in the previous seven years.
With Daniels at quarterback, the Falcons appear to have one of the youngest cores in the whole NFL. Competency would be the most important thing they could ask of the inexperienced signal-caller.