The highly anticipated NFL Draft is just a day away and the questions surrounding who the Falcons will select in the first round and where they'll pick will be answered.
As for how Atlanta's brass is weighing the options of staying at pick No. 4 or trading back and collecting assets for the future, general manager Terry Fontenot said while they can "anticipate" what will happen with the first three picks, there's still a wait and see element that will occur.
"There are still variables involved so we know the players that we will be discussing there and we can all anticipate the first three picks but it has to actually happen," Fontenot said. "And then from that point we have to weigh the options of do we trade back compared to the player we could get at four if we trade back, what would be the value? So we have to weigh all of those different variables."
What the San Francisco 49ers do with the No. 3 overall pick will play a role in what the Falcons do with the next pick. Atlanta's draft plans in the first round will likely come down one of these three scenarios: Stay at No. 4 and take a quarterback for the future, take the best non-quarterback prospect in the draft or trade back.
Atlanta has nine picks heading into the draft with several positional needs, specifically at quarterback, running back, defensive end, cornerback and left guard. Regardless of what Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith do with their first-round pick, the team is looking to add an impact player.
"When you're picking at four, we're trying to take an impact player," Fontenot said. "Whether it's a player that's going to sit or a player that's going to play right away, we want to bring in an impact player that fits the culture, that has the right makeup and that we have clear vision for that player.
