Falcons trade up, pick Clemson DT Ruke Orhorhoro in 2nd round

Atlanta adds pass rush punch to its defensive front, selecting an interior defender to spell and eventually supplant their older starters.

The Atlanta Falcons traded up, surrendering pick No. 79 in the third round, to snag the 35th pick in the draft and select Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro.

A surprise selection here—he was projected to go in the third round in most every mock draft and prospect ranking I saw—Orhorhoro is a tough, versatile interior defensive lineman who adds youth and talent to this Falcons group up front.

I wrote about him briefly after Mel Kiper mocked him to the Falcons in the third round a little while back, noting that he seemed to have room to grow at the next level and could be moved around. The Falcons apparently coveted him and were fearful he’d go here early in the second round, regardless of what the mock drafts say—we should have learned our lesson from the Keanu Neal/Deion Jones draft, right?—and made a move up to get him.

This is a very intriguing selection for me, assuming the Falcons actually make two third round selections. Orhorhoro would give the team a young, still-not-playing-to-his-full-potential defender along their defensive front who could move around a bit and spell the team’s older starters in his first year. He’s a tough, dynamic interior defender with real upside as a pass rusher, and with Atlanta’s current mix of 30-plus starters and quality young backups, there’s an opportunity for Orhorhoro to step into a starting role down the line.

Orhorhoro had five sacks last year and four in 2022, with 16 combined tackles for a loss over that two year span. An active, disruptive presence up front who also had six pass deflections over the past two seasons, Orhorhoro will see significant snaps right away and will become an integral player up front if injuries mount among the 30 year old starters the Falcons are expected to trot out in 2024. The talent is there and the opportunity to realize it without having to be to be a player the team relies on too heavily in the opening weeks of the season is also there, and the hope will be that by 2025, Orhorhoro is an integral defender for Atlanta. The Falcons just traded up to get him in the second round, so I think that is very much the expectation.

Weigh in on what you think of the pick here, but I think we’ll see Orhorhoro becoming a Raheem Morris and Jimmy Lake favorite before too long.