Falcons selecting pass rusher in McShay's latest mock draft

With Super Bowl LIV in the past, it is officially mock draft season in the NFL. With the Atlanta Falcons lacking anything resembling a consistent pass rush in recent seasons, the team has been linked to a slew of rushers near the top of the board for the 2020 NFL Draft.

In ESPN's Todd McShay's latest mock draft (subscription required), he has the Falcons selecting Iowa's A.J. Epenesa with the 16th overall pick. Here's an excerpt from McShay on the mock selection:

On a defense that produced 28 sacks, tied for the second fewest in the NFL, that only magnifies edge rushing as the team's most critical need. Epenesa had eight sacks in his final five games at Iowa and is great at getting his arms in passing lanes.

Pro Football Focus ranks Epenesa as the 14th best prospect in the 2020 class, and his 91.5 pass rush grade is among the best in the group. Only Ohio State's Chase Young is rated higher among PFF's EDGE players in the 2020 class. The 6'6 junior had a dominant 2019 campaign.

Epenesa's junior season of 11.5 sacks in 2019 ranked T-11 in the nation and T-3 in the Big 10. He finished his three-year college career with 26.5 sacks and 36 tackles for loss in 37 games. He could be the type of dominant rusher Atlanta has been longing for, and it would certainly be no shock to anyone if the Falcons called his name at No. 16 if he's still on the board.

With Vic Beasley gone, Adrian Clayborn also being a free agent and Takkarist McKinley coming off a shoulder surgery that ended his 2019 season, the Falcons have plenty of motivation to seek pass rush help early in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Add us as a preferred source on Google