Should Washington Trade Up To Falcons No. 4 Pick?

ASHBURN, Va. - Should the Washington Football Team trade up from No. 19 to the fourth overall pick and the Atlanta Falcons?

My immediate - maybe even knee-jerk - answer is "no.''

Adam Schefter of ESPN lit the first match - which makes sense.

With teams locked into the first three overall picks, the Atlanta Falcons now have received trade calls from multiple teams and “are open to moving” out of the No. 4 spot, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 6, 2021

Atlanta wanting to trade out of No. 4 should not be a surprise. They are looking to rebuild their roster with new general manager Terry Fontenot in charge (and with a former Washington Football executive, Kyle Smith, alongside.)

If the Falcons are not going to draft QB Matt Ryan's eventual replacement (which they could do), they have plenty of reasons to move down. Even if it's just a couple of spots.

They could - having put down some of the groundwork in advance, of course - wait until they are on the clock so that a desperate team knows what is left. ... and can come calling.

Here's the part that Washington fans should keep an eye on.

Peter Schrager of NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" offered this scenario for the fourth pick.

“Atlanta holds the keys to the Draft with the 4th pick right now. I’d look at Denver, New England, Washington, even Chicago to pick up that phone and see what it would take. Atlanta’s willing to listen. This is where it gets really interesting.” -- @PSchrags pic.twitter.com/kl0rxYEmYl
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) April 6, 2021

In my opinion, it makes no sense that Washington would trade all the way up to No. 4, because they do not need to be desperate for a quarterback ... and because of the cost.

READ MORE: NFL Draft Tracker

To climb 15 spots in the draft is going to cost multiple picks including a likely 2022 first-round choice and something more this year.

The WFT still has too many holes to fill to be - I'll use this word again, as I often do - "reckless.'' I agree with colleague Cole Thompson about still wanting to keep an eye out for the future and for "Our Guy'' at QB ... but I would not want the WFT to put its present and future at risk by being over aggressive.

If Washington wants to move up? Maybe there is a more conservative way to do that. But to me? There isn't one player that's worth 15 picks of compensation. Not Kyle Pitts, not anybody.

READ MORE: Quinton Dunbar off to Detroit

Washington and Ron Rivera have talked about being patient over and over again. Hopefully, even as the tantalizing No. 4 overall pick is dangled, they remember their own expressed philosophy.

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