15. Atlanta Falcons: Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
The Atlanta Falcons set out to solve their quarterback issue in the 2024 offseason, and they did just that. But they paid a price to do it, and I’m not just speaking of the $180 million contract that was handed out to Kirk Cousins.
The Falcons definitely needed to get a long-term fix at quarterback, and they seem to have found it with Michael Penix Jr. That’s great news for them, but the cost to acquire Cousins and Penix was not limited to just draft capital and cap space. The Falcons also sacrificed in terms of investing in their pass rush this past year, which remains arguably the biggest need on the team two years running.
Nothing will ever trump the quarterback position, but even if you have a quarterback, if you can’t get pressure on the quarterback, you’re not going to win games. The Falcons keep it local here and go after the dynamic Mykel Williams, whose stock could push him way out of Atlanta’s range by the time the draft actually rolls around.
16. Arizona Cardinals: James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
The Arizona Cardinals were right in the middle of the pack this past season in terms of overall sacks per game, but this team needs weapons on the defensive front for head coach Jonathan Gannon to deploy in waves.
The best defenses Gannon had while he was with the Philadelphia Eagles were defenses that just had absolute waves of pass rushers, and guys on the second and third units who could still make substantial impacts on the game.
We saw the Cardinals maybe give us a little bit of a hint as to their desire for an impact player off the edge with some athletic traits when they sent a 6th-round pick to Denver last year at the trade deadline to acquire Baron Browning.
Maybe they even bring Browning back, but I don’t think we’ll see them pass on a player like James Pearce Jr. if they get a shot at him in the middle of the first round here.