Falcons at Combine: Atlanta Interviews NFL Draft QBs Matt Corral, Kenny Pickett

“We actually had formal interviews with several quarterbacks yesterday, and there’s a good group in this draft,” Fontenot says. “There’s different flavors.”

Author:
Bri Amaranthus
Publish date:
Mar 2, 2022 1:13 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS - The Atlanta Falcons are wise to try to hide their intentions in the coming NFL Draft, and surely two meetings only tell a tiny sliver about the story that is about to unfold. but here at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, we do indeed have a sliver.

Or two.

The Falcons have conducted formal interviews with at least two of the top quarterbacks in the upcoming draft.

Matt Ryan is turning 37 years old in May, and while he is under contract for two more years, owner Arthur Blank has openly talked of a succession plan at QB. Meanwhile, of course, the Falcons hold the eighth overall pick in the draft.

Does this quarterback class feature a player - Corral or Pickett or Malik Willis or whomever - worthy of the eighth overall pick? At this early stage, many scouting minds say no. But as one NFL scout tells us, "That's what we say in March. Once we get to the draft, we over-draft QB's. We just do.''

And maybe that's OK, given the importance of the position.

pickett corral strong — https://www.reddit.com/r/Commanders/comments/rqg98m/ridder_corral_pickett_willis_howell_strong_meet/

2022 QB Prospects

Carson Strong

Matt Ryan

Atlanta GM Terry Fontenot revealed the general concept behind the Monday QB visits.

“We actually had formal interviews with several quarterbacks yesterday, and there’s a good group in this draft,” Fontenot said Tuesday. “There’s different flavors.”

Pittsburgh’s Pickett, Ole Miss’ Corral and Liberty’s Willis, along with North Carolina’s Sam Howell, Nevada's Carson Strong and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, might be the top QBs in this class, pending, of course, their work here in Indy and beyond. are considered the top quarterbacks in the draft.

Malik Willis

Matt Corral

Kenny Pickett

Does drafting a QB now mean not trying to win now? Does passing on a QB now delay a rebuild? And what to do about Matt Ryan's money?

Said Fontenot: “We want to be smart. We don’t want to make decisions that are going to hurt us in future years. But we also want to build the best team that we can.”