(EDITOR’S NOTE: To access the D. Orlando Ledbetter interview fast forward to 5:45 of the following attachment: https://www.spreaker.com/user/fullpresscoverage/eyetest-ep43)
With the NFL draft two weeks away, it’s pretty clear who controls the board.
The Atlanta Falcons.
They have the fourth overall draft choice, and maybe, just maybe, the first pick that isn’t a quarterback. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence will be taken by Jacksonville at the first spot, with BYU’s Zach Wilson a virtual certainty for the Jets at No. 2. Then comes San Francisco, and the mystery isn’t the position. The 49ers are drafting a quarterback. The only question is which one – Justin Fields or Mac Jones?
Jones is the early frontrunner, but stay tuned. San Francisco GM John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan were scheduled to see Fields’ second Pro Day Wednesday. So let’s just say they do take Jones, and Fields is still there at the fourth spot. What does Atlanta do?
Good question. So we asked Hall of Fame voter and Falcons’ beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the latest “Eye Test for Two” podcast.
“Trading back makes a whole lot of sense,” he said. “(But) I think they missed the boat on that when San Francisco tried to come up … they tried to get up as high as they could. I would’ve stopped them at (number) four and taken that bushel of picks they were offering, dropped back and got some defense.
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“Now I think the teams behind them can kinda wait and get the guys that they want … unless somebody wants to come up for (Florida tight end Kyle) Pitts. I don’t see anybody coming up for anybody else. They’ll let them drop to them.“
And that’s where the plot thickens. Ledbetter said he could see the Falcons choosing either Oregon tackle Penei Sewell or Pitts, both of whom could help extend quarterback Matt Ryan’s career. But he could also see them tempted by Fields if he’s still there when the Falcons are on the clock.
Which he could be.
“The most interesting scenario is this whole Mac Jones-Justin Fields thing at three,” he said. “Now, one exec told me, ‘Hey, you don’t trade three first-round picks to get a developmental quarterback. And you don’t trade them for a game-managing quarterback.’ So, a lot of people think they traded these picks to go get Justin Fields.
“But a lot of talk has centered on Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch going to Alabama’s Pro Day and not going to Ohio State … they’ll see him later this week; that they really want Mac Jones. If they do that solid, the Falcons are going to be sitting there with Justin Fields on the board – a local kid from Harrison High, started his career at Georgia. A lot of the fans want to see him do well, and I’d like to see the rookie general manager explain why he passed on Justin Fields at the fourth pick. So that’s the interesting scenario that could unfold here.”
And if he passed on him?
“He’d have a lot of explaining to do if he does not pick Justin Fields if the 49ers bypass him,” Ledbetter said.