The post-Matt Ryan era has started in Atlanta, and while the organization may have inked Marcus Mariota to a deal, there’s a good chance the organization selects a quarterback in the upcoming draft. League sources expect the Falcons to select a signal-caller with the No. 8 pick in the NFL Draft, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
[RELATED: QB Matt Corral To Visit Five Teams]
Who would the Falcons ultimately select with that pick? Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter), the Falcons are a potential landing spot for Liberty quarterback Malik Willis. The reporter notes that most scouts believe Willis is more of a project and won’t be ready to start during his rookie campaign, which would make him an ideal pairing with someone like Mariota.
Of course, with a handful of QB-needy teams ahead of them in the draft (including the Panthers at No. 6, who Fowler also mentions as a suitor for Willis), the Falcons front office can’t put all of their eggs in one basketball in pursuit of the Liberty QB. We heard recently that the team met with Ole Miss alum Matt Corral. North Carolina’s Sam Howell was the third QB to earn a top-3o visit with the Falcons.
After losing out on Deshaun Watson and trading away Ryan, the Falcons signed Mariota to a two-year contract. The former Titan and Raider is in line to start for the first time since 2019, but he would likely provide a short-term solution at the position at best. Mariota went 2-4 during his six-game stint as Tennessee’s starter in ’19, although he did toss seven touchdowns vs. only two interceptions.
Does anyone proof before publishing?
3o times!
No. Idiot writers galore
No wonder why Tom un-retired. The NFC South is his again.
Falcons will stick to high heaven this yr! Most teams will be able to chalk this game up to a win!
I put all my eggs into one basketball once. Boy, was that messy.
Willis is going to be a pretty good QB… eventually. I’m not sure the Falcons can wait for him though.
And we’re not sure that Willis will end up fulfilling that potential, as well, to add on to what you said. Arthur Smith might be the right coach for that-Willis and Corral both ran a lot of RPOs in college and Smith is well known for coordinating a successful Titans running attack-but it remains to be seen how prepared Atlanta is to construct a team around him. I suppose signing Mariota gives them that time to build it around an established veteran with a similar skill set, but the Falcons need to rebuild their offensive line and find at least one high volume running back to take advantage of a Willis or Corral type QB.
My opinion would be to wait on the QB, personally, but that’s just me. Like I said, Mariota gives them time, but I think that there are higher level linemen high in the draft that could help with this rebuild more than a questionable but high potential scrambling QB. I think that they could get that type of QB in other drafts, but maybe not some of these linemen. But that’s just my opinion.
I think he’s poor man Jalen Hurts….you can win games with that style but it’s not gonna win championships.
The Falcons, and any other team, would be wise to not waste high draft picks on any of the QBs this year. Build the foundation of your team now and look to get your QB down the line from a class that isn’t full of janitors
While you’re correct, teams will always reach for QBs because of the scarcity of decent ones, and for fear of being left without one. Having this year’s group of QBs being less than stellar might actually make teams reach more, not less.
Oh I know, poorly run teams will always make poor decisions then wonder why they’re not successful
Malik Willis would look at home in a Falcons uniform. That said, one of the NFC bird teams is destined to acquire Baker Mayfield.
I don’t see any way that there aren’t 2 WBs picked in the top 10. As it stands now the Panthers and Falcons each almost have to draft one in the first. And if they find a team to trade down with, it would be a team trading up to get a QB before the one they want is gone. To me the only person who flips my script is Baker Mayfield. If one of Atlanta or Carolina decides that Baker is a better option than spending a 1st round pick on one, that changes a lot of things.
Falcons need to stay far away from this qb class. This is the type of class that will get overhyped and each one of them will be a bust.
I’d hate to be one of this year’s project quarterbacks as they basically have no hope of developing on any of the teams likely to draft them.