2024 NFL Mock Draft: Falcons Beef Up Pass Rush
The 2023 NFL Draft is officially behind us, which means the countdown for next year has just begun.
It's hard to determine where each team will land in the draft order for next year, but Pro Football Focus has done just that with its way-too-early 2024 mock draft. PFF believes the Atlanta Falcons will end up with the No. 9 overall pick, selecting Florida State EDGE rusher Jared Verse.
"Verse would’ve likely been a first-round selection in 2023 had he declared," PFF writes. "Instead, he enters next season as a projected top-10 pick in 2024. The former Albany edge dominated in his first season at the FBS level, as his 24.4% pass-rush win rate was fourth among Power Five edge defenders while his 10 tackles for loss/no gain tied for sixth."
Verse had potential to be a high pick in this year's draft, but opted to stay one more season at Florida State. Had he declared, it's possible that he would have been on the Falcons' radar. Atlanta has had arguably the weakest pass rush in the league the past two seasons, finishing dead last in sacks in 2021 and 31st in 2022.
The Falcons hope that number will rise with veteran free agent signings Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree, but both are on one-year deals. The team also drafted Ohio State EDGE rusher Zach Harrison in the third round, and the Falcons hope he'll be part of the team's revolution at the position alongside 2022 draftees Arnold Ebiketie and DeAngelo Malone, among others.
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