Falcons 'Open' To Trading No. 4 Overall Pick; Will Patriots Come Calling?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Following the Jets' trade of Sam Darnold on Monday, the top of the NFL draft is starting to sort itself out. But one more domino could fall, and according to a new report, it could be a big one.
Adam Schefter reported via Twitter on Tuesday that the Falcons are open for business when it comes to dealing away the No. 4 overall pick in this year's draft.
And according to Schefter, teams have already been calling Atlanta.
The question in New England will, of course, be whether or not Bill Belichick is making or planning to make one of those calls. Fellow ESPNer Field Yates indicated that it would be logical to conclude that the Patriots would be one such team to dial up Atlanta to talk about what a deal might look like for such a highly coveted draft spot.
The three teams mentioned certainly don't have a long-term solution at quarterback.
The Patriots have Cam Newton on a one-year deal, with backup Jarrett Stidham seemingly unable to impress the coaching staff enough to get onto the field.
The Broncos have Drew Lock, whom they drafted with the 42nd overall pick in 2019, but he led the NFL with 15 interceptions last year (despite playing just 13 games) and doesn't seem like the future for the Broncos.
The Bears signed Andy Dalton this offseason as they decided to move on from Mitchell Trubisky. They also have Nick Foles signed through 2022, but they're obviously going to be in the market for a young franchise quarterback sooner than later.
The question will be the price tag. The Dolphins cashed in significantly by dealing the third overall pick to the 49ers last month, acquiring the 12th overall pick this year, as well as first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, and a third-round pick in 2022. The Dolphins then turned around and traded that 12th overall pick (along with a fourth-round pick) to move up to No. 6 overall.
The cost for the No. 4 pick would seemingly be somewhere between the massive haul required to get No. 3 and slightly more reasonable package required for Miami to get the No. 6 pick.
The Falcons are seemingly fine with sticking with Matt Ryan for the foreseeable future. And with so many highly touted prospects expected to go early in this year's draft, the Falcons are looking to capitalize by selling to the highest bidder.
In terms of the Patriots' chances, they no longer have the inside track, after Atlanta fired GM Thomas Dimitroff, who had worked for Bill Belichick as the Patriots' director of college scouting from 2003-07. New Falcons GM Terry Fontenot has no ties to the Patriots, having only worked for the Saints in his career, so it seems as though the Falcons will simply be looking to sell their pick to whichever team offers up the most in a package.
The NFL Draft will begin a little more than three weeks from now. Clearly, there's still a whole lot of action that will take place before the league gets to that event.
