And by the looks of it, defensive tackle is in the Dirty Birds’ early draft plans<\/a>. The Falcons have a nice defensive tackle trio in Brandon Dorlus, Ruke Orhorhoro, and Zach Harrison, but Harrison is set to be a free agent after the season and Atlanta still has a need at nose tackle after losing David Onyemata.<\/p>\n There is a pattern emerging in recent Falcons’ mock drafts <\/p>\n Just as a disclaimer, there aren’t many multi-round mock drafts out there, so the sample size is not as large as we would’ve hoped. But the ones that are out there have seen a pattern emerge with the Falcons. Most in league circles seem to agree that defensive tackle is the position to watch<\/a> at 48.<\/p>\n Dane Brugler, The Athletic<\/a>, posted April 15: Christen Miller, Defensive Tackle, Georgia<\/p>\n Brugler was unable to dive deeper into the pick since he did a seven-round mock draft, but it’s hard not to see his thought process. Not only is Miller a local talent, he was a stud at Georgia<\/a> who has been floated by some as a potential first-round pick, so this would be some all-star value to fill a big need.<\/p>\n Mike Renner, CBS Sports<\/a>, posted April 13: T.J. Parker, EDGE, Clemson<\/p>\n Renner discussed a pairing that doesn’t come up very often in mocks: Clemson’s TJ Parker to Atlanta. Typically, the Falcons have been more linked to IDL help, but with James Pearce Jr.’s NFL future up in the air, landing a first-round talent in Parker to replace him and complement Jalon Walker off the edge is a dream scenario.<\/p>\n Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN<\/a>, posted April 15: Lee Hunter, Defensive Tackle, Texas Tech<\/p>\n Kiper says: “Atlanta gave up 4.6 yards per rush last season, 25th in the league, so the interior defensive line is an issue worth examining. Hunter had a ridiculous 52 run stops and 33.5 tackles for loss over the past three seasons and could be an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly, all of the experts agree that taking some large humans in the trenches (while capitalizing on depth at WR later on<\/a>) is the right way for Cunningham to kick off his first draft as a GM, so if any of these guys fall down the board, the Falcons shouldn’t hesitate to get that pick to the podium.<\/p>\n
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