One of the teams in the market for a quarterback this offseason is the Atlanta Falcons. The team has a lot of pieces in place on the offensive side of the ball, a signal caller is all they are missing to bring it together.
One of the reasons Arthur Smith was fired as head coach was his inability to find a productive player under center. Smith went 7-10 in all three seasons as head coach and took a risk sticking with Desmond Ridder as his starter in 2023 with Taylor Heinicke as his backup. The results were middling and he lost his job.
Now, it is up to Raheem Morris, the former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator, to get the job done. He is bringing Zac Robinson along with him from Los Angeles to hopefully get the most out of a talented Falcons bunch.
NFL News & Rumors: Caleb Williams, Justin Fields, 2024 NFL Draft, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons Updates
It will be interesting to see what route Atlanta takes to fill the quarterback position. With just over $25 million in projected cap space, they could be players in free agency with a few moves to open up more money to spend.
They could also look to make a trade. The Chicago Bears are one team the Falcons have been linked to as a potential landing spot for Justin Fields. Atlanta is the overwhelming favorite to land the 2021 first-round pick this offseason.
But, what if the Falcons wanted to swing a blockbuster and draft a quarterback? They could attempt to make a deal with Chicago and acquire the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, presumably to select Caleb Williams out of USC.
What could that deal look like? As Ali Bhanpuri shared at NFL.com, it would not be cheap. In his hypothetical deal, the Falcons receive the No. 1 pick and running back Khalil Herbert. Heading to Chicago are running back Bijan Robinson, the Nos. 8 and 74 picks, a 2025 first-round pick and 2026 second-round pick.
NFL News & Rumors: Caleb Williams, Justin Fields, 2024 NFL Draft, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons Updates
This trade is similar in framework to the deal the Bears accepted last season for the No. 1 pick from the Carolina Panthers. They get a stud offensive player in Robinson and excellent draft capital to keep them stocked for the future.
According to Bhanpuri, this trade would cost the Falcons a 30 percent premium based on the draft value chart used to make the deal. This is certainly an intriguing trade package for Chicago, as they would have the pieces in place to be one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL with D.J. Moore and Robinson as the top weapons around Fields.
Trading Robinson one year after using the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft would be a tough pill to swallow, but if Williams turns out to be as good as people believe he can be, that is a willing price to pay. Finding a franchise quarterback is not easy, but landing Williams would put the Falcons on track to contention in what is a wide-open NFC South.
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