• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Atlanta Sports Today

Atlanta Sports Today

Atlanta Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Falcons
  • Braves
  • Basketball
    • Dream
    • Hawks
  • Soccer
    • United 2
    • United FC
  • Colleges
    • Georgia State
    • Georgia Tech
    • Mercer
    • University of Georgia

Recent mock draft yields bizarre pick for Atlanta Falcons

February 12, 2025 by The Falcoholic

NCAA Football: Oklahoma at Missouri
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

What’s the only thing better than four straight offensive players selected in the first round…?

Welcome to the off-season for the 2025 Atlanta Falcons, ladies and gentlemen. Nobody has a true bead on what the Falcons are going to do with the 15th pick in April’s draft, but there’s been a consensus that it should be on the defensive side of the ball.

Don’t tell that to Sharp Football’s Ryan McCrystal, though. In McCrystal’s first mock draft of the 2025 offseason, the analyst had the Falcons select dynamic wide receiver from the University of Missouri, Luther Burden III.

Atlanta has already invested heavily in the offensive skill positions, but the group has never been the sum of its parts. Adding another weapon who can stretch the field would help Michael Penix‘s development. Atlanta might prefer Luther Burden III to Tetairoa McMillan, as McMillan’s skillset could be considered too much of an overlap with Drake London. Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka is an option as well.

Now, on a very surface level, there are reasons that someone could see a wide receiver taken for the Falcons at some point in this draft. Atlanta has a new quarterback to build around and, as shown by the Philadelphia Eagles’ recent Super Bowl run, surrounding that quarterback with as much firepower as possible leads to impressive results.

There’s only one problem with that thinking: The Falcons defense was putrid last season.

The 2025 draft is littered with potential difference-makers on the defensive side of the ball, in fact, even in this mock draft, the very next pick for the Arizona Cardinals was Georgia EDGE rusher Mykel Williams.

Even when discussing the “Key Stats & Notes” heading into the draft for Atlanta, McCrystal outlined some truly concerning defensive struggles that Burden simply wouldn’t help fix, despite his amazing ability with the ball in his hands.

Darnell Mooney accounted for 39% of the team’s receptions of 20 or more yards, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL.

Forced opponents into third and long (seven or more yards) on 19.5% of sets of downs, ranked 27th.

Generated pressure in 2.5 seconds or less on 18.5% of opponent dropbacks, ranked 29th.

Converted 18.7% of pressures into sacks, ranked 28th.

Allowed 51.4% completion rate on throws 10 or more yards downfield, ranked 27th.

A.J. Terrell allowed a 56.5% completion rate when targeted 10 or more yards downfield, the fifth-highest rate among qualified outside cornerbacks.

This is a bizarre pick that would border on malpractice for General Manager Terry Fontenot, one that plenty of Falcons fans joke about but don’t seriously expect. To forgo the defense in this draft, despite the clear need for a cornerback opposite A.J. Terrell, despite the need for athleticism at the second level. despite the years of fans yearning for a consistent pass-rusher.

It would be a slap in the face to Falcons fans who are hoping, praying, that maybe one day they can field a team that can dominate on both sides of the football, to put it mildly.

Filed Under: Falcons

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Braves show signs of promise but fail to get the job done after Royals take game 2
  • UPDATE: Ronald Acuña Jr. set for stint on 10-Day IL
  • Braves News: Ronald Acuña Jr. to injured list, loss in KC, and more
  • ‘I’m worried’: Acuña (right Achilles tightness) headed to injured list
  • Michael Harris moves up, and Baldwin is back in Royals Game 2 Lineup

Categories

  • Basketball
    • Hawks
  • Braves
  • Colleges
    • Georgia State
    • Georgia Tech
    • Mercer
    • University of Georgia
  • Falcons
  • Soccer
    • United 2
    • United FC
  • Uncategorized

Archives

Our Partners


All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • 92-9 The Game WZGC
  • Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  • ATL All Day
  • Bleacher Report
  • OurSports Central
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • MLB.com
  • Last Word On Baseball
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Talking Chop
  • Tomahawk Take

Basketball

  • NBA.com
  • Amico Hoops
  • Basketball Insiders
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Peachtree Hoops
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Soaring Down South

Football

  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Blogging Dirty
  • Falcons Gab
  • Falcons Wire
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Focus
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • The Falcoholic
  • Total Falcons

Soccer

  • Dirty South Soccer
  • Last Word on Soccer
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Athens Banner-Herald
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Dawg Sports
  • Dawn Of The Dawg
  • Forgotten 5
  • From The Rumble Seat
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Southbound And Down
  • The Red & Black
  • The Signal
  • The Technique
  • Yellow Jacked Up
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in