Post Free Agency Mock Draft Sees Little Change in Falcons First-Round Plan

The Atlanta Falcons began addressing their offseason needs, particularly on defense, during the first week of NFL free agency. Most notably, the Falcons added edge rusher Leonard Floyd on a one-year contract.

But none of their additions, including Floyd, were enough for Atlantafalcons.com's Tori McElhaney to change her projected strategy for the team in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

On March 14, McElhaney predicted the Falcons to select Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart.

"The moves made in free agency (and the loss of Grady Jarrett) means the Falcons may be all-in to draft a pressure player with pick No. 15. It's just a matter of who is available. After hearing what Jalon Walker had to say about Jeff Ulbrich and the Falcons this week, if Walker is there, I say the Falcons take him," wrote McElhaney.

"But he wasn't there in this scenario. And neither was Mykel Williams, who I already mocked to the Falcons last week. So, I wanted to give you something else to think about.

"Enter Shemar Stewart, who one could argue is one of the best edge rushers on the board despite his lack of sack production. He is still a top-20 talent that has major upside the Falcons need in pass rush."

As McElhaney explained, she didn't have Stewart as her choice for the Falcons in her first mock draft. She slotted Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams to Atlanta in her first mock on March 7.

While she picked a different prospect, there was still nothing the Falcons did during the first week of free agency that will change the team's draft strategy, according to McElhaney. Position groups are usually the more important takeaway from a team website mock draft anyway.

If McElhaney continues to do a mock draft every Friday until the first round, she will have done seven mock drafts.

My best guess is McElhaney will predict seven different players to the Falcons in those seven mocks. This isn't necessarily her way of improving her chances of guessing right -- a tactic a lot of mock draft experts seem to use. For McElhaney, it's probably her strategy to get on good terms with the team's newest first-round pick, having positively written about him even before he joined the team.

The more prospects she covers, the better chance McElhaney has of having a positive write up on Atlanta's first-rounder.

Still, the players McElhaney slots to the Falcons in her mock drafts are still noteworthy. She's not going to positively write about prospects that have no chance of joining the organization.

Stewart is a possibility for the Falcons because of his high upside as an edge rusher. Even with Floyd in the fold, the Falcons need a long-term solution to fix their pass rushing issues, which stem back to the last time the team was in the postseason.

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah ranked Stewart his No. 27 overall prospect in the 2025 class on his latest big board on March 6.

"Stewart is a long, dynamic and athletic edge rusher. He generates a lot of pressures but struggles to finish in the passing game," Jeremiah wrote. "That’s why his low sack total (4.5 in three seasons) is misleading. He still impacts the game, even without major sack production.

"I’m sure some will struggle to see past the limited sack total, but there is just too much talent here to fall into that trap."