Story by
ESPN gives Falcons brutal grade for draft day trade with Rams
- Story by
- ESPN gives Falcons brutal grade for draft day trade with Rams
The Atlanta Falcons came into the 2025 NFL draft with a clear plan to upgrade their defense. As Day 3 winds down, the defense has undoubtedly improved. The team landed a projected top-10 pick in Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker to kick off Round 1.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot didn't stop there, though. He traded back into the first round to land Tennessee pass rusher James Pearce Jr. at pick No. 26. The Falcons gave up their second-round pick, a seventh-round pick and a future first-rounder to the Los Angeles Rams for pick No. 26 and a third-round selection.
Advertisement
While fans were mostly happy with the team's aggressive approach to filling its biggest need, some analysts felt Atlanta gave up too much. ESPN's Seth Walder graded the trade for both teams and felt the Rams fleeced the Falcons.
Walder gave the Falcons an "F" grade for the trade while giving the Rams an "A" in his trade grades feature:
I'm sorry, what? Atlanta dealt a future first-rounder to move up from No. 46 to No. 26? For James Pearce Jr.? There's no way to spin it: This is a poor team-building choice, plain and simple. It's not that the Falcons couldn't use a second pass rusher (they drafted Jalon Walker at pick No. 15). It's that they surrendered what could end up being a ton of draft capital.
The Falcons are starting Michael Penix Jr . -- largely still an unknown! -- at quarterback next season. The chance that the pick they gave to the Rams could be top 10, or even top five, is not trivial at all. If that happens, the value of what Atlanta surrendered quickly moves higher.-- Seth Walder, ESPN
The Falcons gave up a good amount but they did receive a third-round pick, which they used to select talented Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts. However, it really comes down to whether or not you believe the Falcons will be better in 2025 than they were in 2024.
Penix is still relatively unproven, but the offensive pieces around him and upgraded defense should be enough for the team to flirt with 10 wins again next season. Time will tell, but Fontenot likely won't lose any sleep over knee-jerk reaction grades.
Advertisement
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: 2025 NFL draft grades: Falcons get 'F' grade for trade with Rams
