The Falcons considered trading back in the first round of the draft, but didn’t received any mega-offers.
With no fabulous offers, the Falcons selected former Florida tight end Kyle Pitts with the fourth overall pick Thursday night.
“We had several conversations, and none of them got serious enough,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said. “Really, we looked at it like it would have had to be a lot, something that would be significant this year and in next year’s draft.”
The Falcons were enraptured with Pitts.
“Had to be enough for us to move off of that player,” Fontenot said. “There weren’t any offers that would have been enough to move back.”
Former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff broke down the three first-round trades for NFL.com.
Dallas traded out of the 10th spot with the Eagles, who came up from No. 12 to take wide receiver DeVonta Smith. That cost the Eagles a third-round pick.
The Bears moved up from 20th to 11th to take former Georgia and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. The Bears sent the Giants a fifth-round pick this year and first-round and fourth-round picks in 2022.
The Jets moved from 23rd to 14th to get USC guard Alijah Vera-Tucker. They sent the 23rd pick and two second-rounders (66 and 86) to the Vikings.
Dimitroff really liked the Bears’ move to land Fields.
“There was pressure on Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy coming into the draft, and I commend them on moving up nine spots to take a talented quarterback in Justin Fields, who not many thought would be around at No. 11,” Dimitroff wrote. “They knew they needed to strike while the iron was hot, and they did. There will be some growing pains -- like with most rookie quarterbacks -- but I’m high on the Bears’ aggressive move.”
AJC’S POSITION-BY-POSITION NFL DRAFT SERIES
QUARTERBACKS: How far will Justin Fields drop in draft? | Top 10 QBs
RUNNING BACKS: Plenty of prospects to pick from | Top 10 RBs
WIDE RECEIVERS: Draft deep with talent | Top 10 WRs
TIGHT ENDS: Ability to create mismatches is key | Top 10 TEs
OFFENSIVE TACKLES: A ‘nasty’ bunch | Top 10 OTs
OFFENSIVE GUARDS/CENTERS: The men in the middle | Top 10 C/OGs
END RUSHERS: Pass on this draft stock | Top 10 DEs
DEFENSIVE TACKLES: One star among lackluster block | Top 10 DTs
LINEBACKERS: Deep class for position | Top 10 LBs
CORNERBACKS: Plethora of options for first two rounds | Top 10 CBs
SAFETIES: Falcons likely will add position player | Top 10 Safeties
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