Atlanta Falcons make a really smart trade for a young receiver

The Atlanta Falcons made a really smart trade to upgrade their wide receiver room, striking a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders for Bryan Edwards.

Heading into the 2022 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons had undoubtedly the saddest group of wide receivers in the NFL.

Obviously, Kyle Pitts is not technically a wide receiver so the players the Falcons had listed at wide receiver on their roster were a borderline embarrassment compared to other teams around the league.

Thank goodness for the Falcons, the offseason didn’t end before the 2022 NFL Draft. They selected USC’s Drake London with the 8th overall pick but surprisingly didn’t double or triple up at the position with any of their remaining picks.

Instead, the Falcons took to the trade market here in the month of May and sent a fifth-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for Bryan Edwards and a seventh-round pick.

Atlanta Falcons swing a much-needed trade for Bryan Edwards

Bryan Edwards still has two years left on his rookie contract and the Falcons are borderline desperate for receiver help, so it’s frankly quite surprising that the Raiders were not able to get more in a trade for this player.

Edwards, through his first two seasons, has averaged 17 yards per reception and looked really good in 2021, specifically.

He caught 34 passes for 571 yards and three touchdowns last season for the Raiders, showing his big-play ability which included some clutch catches for the Raiders.

At 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, Edwards has outstanding size and now joins a group of pass-catchers in Atlanta that includes the 6-foot-5 Drake London and the 6-foot-6 Kyle Pitts.

I think the Falcons still need to add at least one more receiver before training camp, maybe a slot type like Cole Beasley to complement all of the size and speed they have on the outside.

Looking further into the future, the Falcons will have quite the group under contract for 2023 as well. Calvin Ridley will obviously be coming off of suspension and who knows if he will even be in the Falcons’ plans at that point, but if he is, they will certainly have renewed depth at a key position in today’s NFL.

I love this pickup from the Falcons’ perspective, but what about from the Raiders’ perspective?

This move is obviously odd considering Edwards is extremely inexpensive depth and he’s shown nice signs of progression, but they are apparently okay with their depth without Edwards.

The Raiders did sign Demarcus Robinson this offseason as well as Mack Hollins, and they also just brought in Keelan Cole.

Davante Adams will get enough targets that I’m sure Raiders fans won’t miss Edwards too bad.