A couple of months ago, it looked as if the Falcons were going to have a handful of quarterback options to choose from this offseason. But as the chips fell to end the season, many of those options no longer seem feasible.
The overwhelming feeling around the league is that the Bears, Commanders, and Patriots will select quarterbacks with the first three picks in the draft. That likely means the Falcons will have no chance to draft Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye. Of course, all it takes is one of those teams in the top three to get cold feet, opening an opportunity for the Falcons to move up the board. But as of right now, that feels more like a pipe dream.
The Falcons could turn to free agency, acquiring one of Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, or Russell Wilson. Cousins and Mayfield are very attractive options, but it’s also possible they both stick with their current teams. Wilson’s contract makes him intriguing, but there are questions about the baggage he brings with him and whether he would fit in Zac Robinson’s offense.
That could leave the Falcons scouring the trade market for their 2024 starting quarterback, and the only viable option is Justin Fields. DraftKings just dropped their odds on who Justin Fields’ next team will be, and they are shocking, to say the least.
DraftKings currently has Justin Fields as even money to stay with the Chicago Bears, which has me wondering, “What in the hell do they know that we don’t?”
I would venture that if you went out and polled 50 NFL insiders, at least 40 of them would put their money on the Bears trading Justin Fields. Here’s a list of just some of the top names in the business that believe Caleb Williams will be the next quarterback in Chicago.
Yet… Vegas is not budging.
What we do know is if a team is going to trade for the Bears #1 overall pick, it’s going to take a king’s ransom. It very easily could require the Falcons to pony up an established player like Kyle Pitts, three first round picks, and more. That’s a massive haul that the Bears might consider if they aren’t in love with Caleb Williams, but if I’m the Falcons, I’m pulling the trigger on that trade every day of the week. Nothing else matters until they find a franchise quarterback.
The Falcons having the second-best odds of any team to land Justin Fields isn’t the least bit surprising. Almost every outlet has connected the two parties since the offseason began. There’s an obvious need from the Falcons perspective, and Fields is from the Atlanta area. However, I’m a bit more skeptical about the fit than most.
Raheem Morris likened the Falcons new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson to Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. Robinson also worked under McVay in Los Angeles as the team’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. So, let’s think about the type of quarterbacks Shanahan and McVay have succeeded with: Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Kirk Cousins, and Matt Ryan. That’s a group of very accurate passers, which is not Justin Fields at this point in his career.
Beyond that, if Terry Fontenot wasn’t interested in Fields back in 2021, what has he done since that might have changed Fontenot’s mind? His own team is considering trading him for a second-round pick three years after drafting him 11th overall.
I wouldn’t mind Justin Fields coming to Atlanta, but there might be more smoke than there is fire to that situation. What I will be paying very close attention to over the next couple of months is the noise surrounding the Bears and Caleb Williams. If something happens there, it could create the perfect opportunity for the Falcons to finally land their franchise quarterback of the future.
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