FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- In case anyone forgot, Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff dropped a reminder that he's willing to take chances when it comes to draft trades.
Of course, Dimitroff pulled off a blockbuster trade in 2011 surrendering five picks to the Cleveland Browns in order to move up from No. 27 to No. 6 to select Julio Jones. The bold move turned out in favor of the Falcons, as Jones has become one of the most dominant forces in the league.
"We've been aggressive here for many years," Dimitroff said. "Every year we've gone into the draft, we've been aggressive. We moved up eight picks for [Desmond] Trufant, who just signed [an extension] recently. We moved up 21 spots [for Jones] before as well, right?"
The Falcons are highly unlikely to surrender five picks this year. But moving up from the 31st spot in the first round could be considered, especially if the player you're moving up for is a defender named Haason Reddick.
The Temple product continues to rise up the draft boards, with some even tabbing him as a top-10 pick. Reddick obviously impressed the Falcons during a private workout in front of coach Dan Quinn, where Reddick went through linebacker and defensive end drills.
"You guys at Temple play hard man...it really shows on film"
— Scott Wallace (@Swallace_DFO) March 16, 2017
-Coach Quinn #TempleTuff #OOU #RiseUp pic.twitter.com/ibbUrWueW4
Quinn always is on the hunt for guys with speed, and the 6-foot-1-inch, 237-pound Reddick ran a 4.52 in the 40 at the NFL combine. Flip on Reddick's tape and you see a player with ability to run down an elusive quarterback such a Carolina's Cam Newton. You'll also see a play with the physicality to stop a powerful running back such as the New Orleans Saints' Adrian Peterson right in his tracks.
Quinn loves versatility, and Reddick would be a guy the Falcons could line up at the strongside linebacker spot and also move to defensive end to run opposite reigning NFL sacks leader Vic Beasley Jr. A speedy pass-rusher is one of the priorities going into this draft along with potentially a starting right guard and depth at safety.
Not to mention Reddick has quite a story. The former high school running back/safety was a walk-on at Temple who redshirted as a freshman and became the team's starting defensive end during his junior year.
What it comes down to is what the Falcons would be willing to surrender to move up. You see how much it took to move up in the top 10 for Jones. In the Trufant trade, the Falcons traded the 30th overall selection, a third-round pick (92nd overall), and a sixth-round pick (198th overall) to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for the 22nd pick and a seventh-round pick.
Reddick certainly should be at least a top-20 pick. And Dimitroff sees opportunity to move up in the 20s, but that range encompasses 10 picks.
"The reality is, to move up into the 20s, there will be opportunities there," Dimitroff said. "And there are some interesting candidates that would be there at the early parts of the 20s. You look at that and you think about that and you set eight-to-10 spots, wow, that's the most you would move. And you never know. Before you know it, there's another opportunity to move up another four or five, and you start looking at compensation and deciding, as a group. I just want to make sure that it's definitely open. That's the important part of the approach here."
Dimitroff was asked about the possibility of moving up into the teens.
"I think any time you're looking at it, we'll look at opportunities," he said. "Those are costly when you're moving from 31."
Falcons fans will just have to wait to see how things unfold come draft night.
