Falcons' All-Time Bad Trade Ended With Miss on All-Pro Edge Rusher

A lot of draft talk around the Atlanta Falcons this spring centered around the team's decision to trade back up into the first round to acquire another edge rusher. Hopefully, the end result isn't history that repeats itself for the Falcons.

In 2017, the Falcons also traded up for an edge rusher. Fresh off the heartbreaking Super Bowl loss, Atlanta was aggressive and moved up from No. 31 to 26.

Moving ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also needed an edge rusher, was the right choice. But the Falcons chose the wrong prospect.

The Falcons gave up a third and seventh-round choice for the right to draft defensive end Takk McKinley. Meanwhile, the Steelers stayed put and landed T.J. Watt at No. 30 overall.

On Wednesday, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox called the decision the worst Falcons trade of the last 10 years.

"After watching its defense get picked apart late in Super Bowl LI and having struggled to find pass-rushers, Atlanta was in the market for a sack artist. So were the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, which is why the Falcons made the move to jump them," wrote Knox.

"Trading up from No. 31 to No. 26 cost Atlanta third- and seventh-round picks. That wouldn't be an egregious price point had McKinley developed into a quality long-term contributor for the Falcons. However, he recorded just 17.5 sacks for the team and was waived before finishing his fourth campaign. 

"Making the trade look far worse is the fact that Atlanta took McKinley four spots before the Steelers grabbed future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt."

In the grand scheme of the league, the trade to get McKinley really isn't that bad. Trades for multiple first-round picks in exchange for quarterbacks such as Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson are far worse.

But Atlanta's failure to develop McKinley, along with cultivate Vic Beasley's talent, was the beginning of the end to the Dan Quinn-Thomas Dimitroff era with the Falcons.

McKinley had 13 sacks in his first two NFL seasons. He appeared ready to breakout as a full-time starter for the first time in 2019.

But with Quinn as both the team's head coach and defensive coordinator, McKinley mustered only 3.5 sacks during 2019. The defensive end had two sacks in Week 14 but then finished the season on injured reserve.

McKinley then played just four games in 2020. The Falcons placed him on waivers during November of that season.

One can hope Atlanta's pair of 2025 first-round edge rushers -- Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. -- have far better careers in Atlanta than McKinley did.

Maybe the Falcons can get back at the Steelers with a Kirk Cousins trade this summer. But in the 2017 draft, Pittsburgh drafted the far better edge rusher.