FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — With a franchise-low five picks, the second-fewest in the 2025 NFL Draft, the temptation to trade is possibly higher than ever for Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot.
Back in the order, too. Not up, like Fontenot has done in each of the last three years with a second-round base point. Being willing to drop backward would offer the best opportunity to pick up more capital and therefore more talent in a year when Atlanta’s free agency moves were financially savvy rather than splashy out of necessity.
“If there’s trades available, if you can move down in the first or second round and it makes sense to us, we’ll do it,” Fontenot said Wednesday in his annual pre-draft press conference. “But we’ll also have the confidence and conviction to take that player off the board if it makes sense to us.”
Right now, the Falcons have the No. 15 overall pick in Round 1, No. 46 in Round 2, No. 118 in Round 4 and Nos. 218 and 242 in Round 7. That’s two picks between Thursday and Friday, then three Saturday.
For comparison, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers own the most picks with 11 each. The 49ers have four picks between Thursday and Friday, while the Ravens have three. There are nine teams total with a double-digit count, making them the best negotiating partners for the Falcons.
“We have a chart, basically, on the tendencies of every general manager based off their drafts,” Fontenot said. “So, you can know who’s more aggressive, like, ‘What’s the rate of this GM? 70% of the time they move up, this percentage they move down.’ You want to know who’s actually willing to make a trade.”
The teams that are draft rich could also be interested in trading for a mix of present and future picks. It’s important to remember no matter how many rookies get brought into an organization, the roster limit for the season remains at 53.
For example, the Falcons drafted eight players in 2024. One did not make the cut.
“It just kind of depends on where you are as a team,” Fontenot said. “Because what you want to do is you want to make sure those guys can make your team … some people can’t handle that many picks.”
Another aspect to consider with making a trade this year is the depth of the draft. The caliber of prospects remaining late in the first round could be similar to those available early in the second round. That could make it more difficult to find a partner who’s willing to move one way or another in general.
The key word there, though, is willing. The Falcons may want to make moves. Others may not. No one will truly know until the board begins to play out.
“Sometimes you want to do it, it makes sense, but it’s not like on the draft simulator when you can just force the trades and do what you want,” Fontenot said. “You know, this is real life. But that is something that obviously we’ll consider.”
