Falcons land defensive star in CBS Sports 2023 NFL re-draft

When the Falcons selected Bijan Robinson with the highest pick in the

2023 draft—the highest since Saquon Barkley, who was selected by the Giants

with the second overall pick—a lot of fuss was created.

It was examined closely. First off, it’s not thought of as a premium position to be a

running back. Second, the most gifted physical player on the team, Jalen Carter, was available.

 

In any case, I think Bijan Robinson would still rank very highly if the Falcons had a second chance, but that’s not the opinion

of one pundit. In a CBS Sports redraft of the 2023 cycle, Chris Trapasso has

Atlanta selecting Kobie Turner, a standout rookie defender who was

originally selected by the Rams in the third round.

 

Trapasso stated, “Turner was a vicious interior rusher down the stretch who led

all rookie defensive tackles in sacks—exactly what the Falcons defense needs.”

 

In the Defensive Rookie rankings, the Los Angeles defensive tackle came in third.

of the Year voting and was a member of the Rams draft class that included the

Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up, C.J. Stroud.

Turner is one stunner, but if you saw the rest of the draft, you would be left wondering. With the ninth overall pick,

the Bears first chose defensive rookie of the year Will Anderson.

 

If those two were on the board, there would be no dispute at all. Anderson became the seventh defensive rookie

selected in the top three since 1970 after amassing

seven sacks, 45 tackles, 10 for

loss, 22 quarterback hits, and an astounding 64 pressures, or a 17.3%

pressure rate, on his way to a Pro Bowl selection.

The fact that Bijan Robinson did not even make it to the first round and, even more

puzzling, Bryce Young was eliminated in the first round make this redraft even more absurd.

 

Even if Tom Brady had been in charge of that

Panthers squad, he would have had

difficulty. The staff disagreed on both weekly gameplans and Young’s progress,

and he received no offensive support. It was an awful circumstance.

 

The Falcons should never, ever pass on Bryce Young in the 2023 redraft. Arthur

Smith most likely would not have lost his job if that was the way things worked out.