Falcons prioritize their defensive front on day two of the 2024 NFL Draft

The expected additions on defense arrive, even if they come in unexpected forms.

The Atlanta Falcons had to trade up to get one player they coveted, and they let another one come to them. By the time the second day of the 2024 NFL Draft was over, though, they had made a pair of additions to their defensive front that figure to have major roles this coming season.

Whether that eased or erased your concerns with that part of the Falcons defense is a question only you can answer, but it was a welcome day for me, given how few resources had gone toward that side of the ball to this point. Let’s review what the team did yesterday, as well as what the team said about the picks.

Second round: Clemson DL Ruke Orhorhoro

This was an unexpected selection…here. Our own Kevin Knight had mocked Orhorhoro to the Falcons in the third round, the most common landing spot for him in mock drafts and prospect guides, and I think many expected the Falcons to land the more highly rated Illinois defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton or Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry here.

Instead, anticipating a run on defensive tackles that began with their pick and likely believing Orhorhoro would be involved in that run, the Falcons traded the Calvin Ridley third rounder to move up about eight spots and land their guy.

What might Orhorhoro be? A rugged, athletic, and relentless run defender right away, he can be moved around on the line per matchup and front and be an asset immediately. The Falcons will likely try to use him on early downs to spell David Onyemata and Grady Jarrett, and will look to unlock his very real potential as a pass rusher as they go. The Falcons won’t have Onyemata and Jarrett on this roster in 2025, with at least one likely to go, and Orhorhoro will step into a much larger role when that happens. In the here and now, the Falcons will find him playing time, and he has intriguing potential as a fantastic athlete on a defense that prizes that up front.

This is not like the Penix pick, in the sense that Orhorhoro is ostensibly blocked but will play immediately because the team will rotate their defensive lineman. It’s just that given his still unrealized upside and the presence of veterans ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s likely that his greatest impact will come in 2025 and beyond.

Third round: Washington EDGE Bralen Trice

Trice, meanwhile, will almost certainly contribute immediately. The Falcons do not have and will not have enough starting-caliber players at EDGE to keep Trice in mothballs, and he’s a productive pass rusher ready to make an impact. Crucially, he also knows Jimmy Lake well, and the team’s new defensive coordinator both likely pushed to get him and plans to feature him.

Trice joins an EDGE group that has exactly one surefire long-term option in Arnold Ebiketie, and thus he’ll be expected to play a lot right away. Trice produced a ton of pressures in college and is a savvy player; it’s not hard to imagine him flirting with the team lead in sacks this season, even if that’s likely to be closer to six than 10.

Are the Falcons done?

I hope not, but possibly.

There will be opportunity on the draft’s final day to add another EDGE or stock depth along the defensive line, and the team has not added to its inside linebacker group, which has injury concerns with Troy Andersen coming off of a major one. While the secondary hasn’t been touched in the draft, the Falcons have added options at cornerback and can dip into a still-robust safety market in free agency following the draft, if they so choose. The defensive front can use more talent.

If they are done, though, the Falcons have added a pair of players who figure to be long-term starters and immediately useful members of their respective positional rotations. Given that we’ve begged this team to address the defense and given that both players are legitimately talented, it’s difficult to be upset about what the team did on the draft’s second day, even if you’re one of the many Falcons fans who wished they didn’t swap out that third round pick to get Orhorhoro. Now all that remains is to see what kind of impact Atlanta’s new additions can have on a defense that badly needed the help.