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The Atlanta Falcons must decide what to do with Kirk Cousins. Or perhaps the aging veteran will take care of it himself. But the Falcons' main focus is the draft, and here’s how they came out in the three-round 2025 NFL Mock Draft with trades, according to the Pro Football Network simulator.
Atlanta had a shot at making the playoffs in 2024, but finished 8-9 and missed out on the postseason fun. However, the Falcons turned things over to Michael Penix Jr. behind center, and the future is looking better.
Entering the draft with needs along the offensive and defensive lines, the PFN mock simulator decided the safety position made the most sense in the first round.
Falcons get Georgia safety Malaki Starks at No. 15
If the Falcons decided this would be the best course of action, getting a player of Starks’ caliber wouldn’t be bad. He has elite potential, according to PFN.
“Malaki Starks has many of the tools needed to be a high-level starter at the NFL level,” PFN wrote. “He’s a well-built safety with a large catch radius and the versatility to play across the secondary. His intelligence allows him to thrive in various alignments, and he’s battle-tested as a three-year starter for a blue-blood program.
“In coverage, Starks has the athleticism to cover a considerable amount of space and the processing skills to act quickly upon his reads. He aims to disrupt plays when the ball is thrown in his direction, and he did a good job of doing that during his time at Georgia.”
Starks also profiles as a solid tackler, which helps any defensive unit. And he should fit into the NFL mix as a true starting safety, as opposed to a hybrid guy who can also play the position. An area of improvement would be shedding blockers closer to the line of scrimmage.
Atlanta needs help at the safety position, so this pick makes some sense.
However, and this is a big HOWEVER, the Falcons finished with the second-fewest sacks in the NFL last season. And they could lose linebackers Matthew Judon and Lorenzo Carter in free agency.
Therefore, a better first-round pick would have been getting a different Georgia player. Jalon Walker makes more sense at this point because of his explosive movement and technical skills. He has polished pass-rushing moves and is a standout prospect as an edge rusher.
Tampa Bay said “thank you very much” to the Falcons and took Walker at No. 19.
Falcons take Ohio State's Jack Sawyer in Round 2
Now here’s the funny thing about drafting Starks. It opened the door to plucking Sawyer in Round 2. It seems like Sawyer would not have fallen this far, but for the purposes of this mock draft, it’s a good get for the Falcons.
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Sawyer won’t bring elite measureables to the NFL. But he brings a nose for the football and the ability to make big plays at critical points in the game. He has great instincts along with a non-stop motor. Awareness and determination will make him a success at the NFL level.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said the organization is hungry for a good draft after last year’s disappointment, according to atlantafalcons.com.
“A lot of people put a lot of work into this,” Fontenot said. “From the players, the coaches, the entire staff, everybody in the building, a lot of people put in a lot of work. When this is what the result is nobody is happy about that.
“It's our job to get right into this offseason process and look at every aspect of everything that affects football. And make sure we're doing everything we can do this offseason to put us in position next year to win more football games.”
And Morris is in lock-step with Fotentot.
“We'll be together in this process,” Morris said. “We'll be together over the next couple of weeks talking to our players, really setting expectations for what we want to be and some of those different things as we get a chance to connect with our whole team. Everything that we're going to do, we're going to do together, and we're right next to each other.”
A better draft is available for Falcons
If the Falcons had grabbed Jalon Walker in the first round, they could have Ole Miss cornerback Trey Amos. That would have given them a top-notch edge rusher along with filling a desperate need at cornerback. This would have been the best path.
The Falcons don’t own a third-round pick, so Starks and Sawyer are the only ones on their draft board for this three-round mock.
Because the Falcons got such high-quality players, they get a grade of B-plus. But the missed out on a grade of A if they had gone the other direction.
