Falcons Go Green in The Athletic's Mock Draft

The Atlanta Falcons take a big step to addressing their chronically poor pass rush in The Athletic's beat writer mock draft.

Marshall Thundering Herd defensive lineman Mike Green has been heavily linked to the Atlanta Falcons in NFL Mock Drafts. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

With fans, media and former players clamoring for the Atlanta Falcons to draft an edge rusher with the No. 15 overall pick in Thursday’s first round, The Athletic delivered in their beat writer Mock Draft. Long-time Falcons’ writer Josh Kendall selected Marshall’s Mike Green when he was on the clock at No. 15. 

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"Green, who led the FBS in sacks last year with 17, has off-field issues (two sexual assault allegations that resulted in no charges, and in which Green has denied any wrongdoing) and won’t be an option for some teams, but Atlanta will point to strong references from his coaches and will be motivated by a chance to fix its historically bad sack numbers,” wrote Kendall on The Athletic.  

The Falcons chronically bad pass rush has been well documented. They’ve gone offensive skill in the top-10 in each of general manager Terry Fontenot’s drafts. The offense is pretty well set with the starting 11 returning from last season. 

Over the last 5 years, #Falcons have the fewest sacks…#Steelers have the most
 
Over the last 10 years, #Falcons have the fewest sacks…#Steelers have the most
 
Over the last 20 years, #Falcons have the fewest sacks…#Steelers have the most

— Matt Williamson (@WilliamsonNFL) April 14, 2025

The Falcons defense wasn’t just bad, their entire defense played a soft, bend-but-don’t-break style that eventually broke and led to the firing of first-time defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake.

Jeff Ulbrich was brought back to lead the defense after a successful stint as the coordinator of some very good New York Jets defenses. But he needs more weapons on his side of the ball, and it looks like the Falcons are finally going to get serious about investing on defense.

Mike Green is a viable, possible option for the Atlanta Falcons. He rushes the passer with equal parts explosion and twitch. As a result, he remains on the team's radar. If the Falcons are comfortable with his past, and he’s on the board at No. 15, he could be a very big piece towards fixing the Falcons’ defense.