Are the Atlanta Falcons a Prime Trade Partner for the Jacksonville Jaguars?

It’s finally draft week, which means it’s time for all the smoke to start building up. Rumors are abound about which players teams are interested in, which teams are interested in trading up, and which players are moving up and down draft boards.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been rumored as a team who could potentially trade down if Marcus Mariota doesn’t come off the board with the second overall pick. The logic of the Jaguars trading down from 3 is solid, but general manager David Caldwell might still be in the market to move down even if the signal caller from Oregon is taken before the Jaguars are on the clock.

Darin Gantt over at Pro Football Talk recently brought up a report from D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and apparently Dante Fowler Jr. is a player the Atlanta Falcons might target in a trade up.

"New Falcons coach Dan Quinn recruited Fowler when he was a Gators assistant and coached him two years, but the need goes beyond their familiarity. The Falcons badly need to find a pass-rusher to go along with their defensive makeover this offseason…That third spot, currently owned by Jacksonville, could be the pivot for the Falcons, as the Jaguars could justify using it on Fowler, defensive tackle Leonard Williams or a receiver such as Amari Cooper. Then again, the Jaguars have sufficient needs that they could find a fit deeper in the draft, and the eighth spot would suffice.Jacksonville general manager Dave Caldwell worked for Dimitroff, so there’s also a familiarity there that could help facilitate a deal."

A lot of people have linked Fowler to the Jaguars as almost a guarantee to be the guy at number 3, but I’m not quite as sold on the idea. The Jaguars have been quite effective in hiding their draft intentions in previous years, and it would be odd to have them leak and publicly display so many connections to one player.

This move would make all the sense in the world for the Jaguars. Moving down to 8 gives the Jaguars plenty of options as far as maneuvering around the first round and picking a player who could contribute right away. There would still be a quality edge rusher available at 8, or the Jaguars could look at moving down again. Right now, there’s not really anything the Jaguars could reasonably do that would shock me.

Next: Could Adrian Peterson be had for 2nd Round Pick?

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