The Falcons’ first season under the new regime ended with a record of 7-10 and missing the playoffs. The Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith duo are now entering their second offseason in charge, and this one could look a lot like last spring. The Falcons officially hold the eighth overall pick in April’s draft, which will give them an opportunity to bring in a blue-chip caliber prospect. The approach Fontenot took in the 2021 NFL draft will be his philosophy in every draft — best player available.
Instead of filling the team’s needs through the draft, most successful franchises will select the highest-graded player on their big board, regardless of position. The Ravens are most known for this sort of approach as Ozzie Newsome led the Baltimore front office for years, building one of the most consistently successful organizations in the league.
In the Falcons end-of-season presser, Fontenot spoke on his strategy as the draft approaches. In short, BPA has a proven track record, and Fontenot will stick with that approach because drafting for needs is “how you make mistakes.” Every year teams will reach on a particular prospect because they have a need at the position; sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Fontenot won’t make that same mistake. Falcons fans can expect every position to be a possibility with the eighth overall pick — QB, WR, OL, DL, OLB, CB, etc.
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