Falcons: Why a quarterback change in 2021 NFL Draft is logical
By Hunter Neel
The end results
Now, let’s go back to viewing this through a Falcons scope, with of course the influence of my tape evaluations. All three of the quarterbacks look to be franchise guys with some issues to clean up. Ultimately, the Falcons decision to go quarterback is still up in the air but fans should be excited for any of these guys, if they are the selection at four.
For my money Fields is the most talented player not named Lawrence. He showed some cracks in his game this past season but with the natural traits and tools at his disposal he has the makings of continuing his progression we have seen thus far. His accuracy, arm talent, and mobility make him an ideal candidate for the Falcons. He ran a system quite similar to what Arthur Smith resembles in Tennessee. Fields showed he could operate option based route concepts that work the mesh point, downfield, and RPO concepts effectively.
As I mentioned before, Lance has perhaps the highest potential of any in the class, it is just more unsure of if he can reach this potential and unlock his true abilities as he develops. Him having to sit for a year should not scare the Falcons away though, as they can simply have Lance learn behind Ryan for the first year before taking over.
While I understand the intrigue surrounding Wilson I just can’t get behind him being above the other two guys. He gets frantic in the pocket with pressure and his feet and mechanics start to flutter. He struggles greatly with the anticipatory side of routes, which will only get worse as things speed up. He is too quick to leave the pocket and relies on his athletic ability to bail him out, which to his favor did work a good bit this past season for him. Add in the fact that Wilson has an average arm, especially compared to the other guys at the top of this year’s class.
After saying all of this, if quarterback is the way the Falcons are leaning my current order would be Fields, Lance, then Wilson. Again, all these guys have the makings of a franchise quarterback and are deserving of a top ten selection.