FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — In her most recent mock draft, Tori McElhaney presented a scenario that involved the Atlanta Falcons not taking an edge rusher with the No. 15 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Instead, she added a quality player to Atlanta’s secondary, turning that unit into a bona-fide strength. It’s a decision that is entirely justifiable, but one that left plenty of fans responding with a familiar refrain — What about the pass rush?
Those fans will hopefully be relieved to learn that mock drafts are as much about presenting hypothetically scenarios than actually predicting what might happen. Could the Falcons select one of the many talented cornerbacks or safeties in the first round? Sure. However, they are just as likely to go a number of directions at this point.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot was hailed as a breath of fresh air when he first stated his preference for drafting the players they feel are the best rather than limiting their draft board to positional needs. Now, some of those same people believe Atlanta should narrow its aperture to focus on only a few key positions of need.
For those who want Atlanta to take a pass rusher in the first round for the first time since 2017, I have good news: This draft sets up remarkably well for the Falcons to find a pass rusher that meshes with their defensive approach.
While I am not privy to any information that might hint at who that could be, an understanding of this year’s class is all it takes to make that claim. This year’s pass rushers come in all sorts of different flavors, so let’s take a deeper look at those who could still be on the clock at No. 15.
Editor’s note: Penn State’s Abdul Carter is largely expected to be a top-5 pick in the draft, so he is not included in this exercise but is an exceptional player.
