By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Atlanta Falcons have the eighth pick in the NFL Draft. Round 1 begins on April 27 in Kansas City. The Falcons own eight total picks in the draft.

Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot had some roster rebuilding to do in their first two seasons, starting with shedding expensive salaries.

Weathering that stretch came with back-to-back 7-10 seasons, but they had money to spend this offseason for the first time.

They first used it on safety Jessie Bates III, defensive tackle David Onyemata, linebacker Kaden Elliss, cornerback Mike Hughes, wide receiver Mack Hollins and quarterback Taylor Heinicke; then, they traded for former Titans and Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith.

Casey Hayward will be entering his 12th season this year, and he’s coming off a torn pectoral muscle. The Falcons need an heir similar to Hayward, who they can pair with A.J. Terrell into the future.

Bates addresses the immediate need in the starting lineup, and 2021 second-round pick Richie Grant will man the other spot, but the Falcons need depth and could use special teams bodies as well.

Hollins’ signing takes care of the No. 2 receiver position, but the modern NFL rewards teams who have a lot of targets. Atlanta needs at least one more wide receiver.

The one position everyone was sure the Falcons would address in free agency was edge rusher. The Falcons were 31st in the NFL last season in pressure rate (25.8 percent), which was an improvement over dead last in 2021 (24.1 percent).

Atlanta’s 39 sacks over the last two seasons rank last in the NFL by a wide margin. The 31st-place Raiders have had 62 in that span. Sixteen teams have at least doubled the Falcons’ total.

None of that changes the fact that the Falcons need a pass rusher, and at this point it’s going to have to come with the No. 8 pick in the draft.

So here I go with three pass rushers who the Falcons should be looking at in Rounds 1.

Tyree Wilson, edge, Texas Tech: It feels like Wilson moves up one spot in all the mock drafts every week, and he might not be available at No. 8.

The Falcons might be able to get the No. 6 pick from Detroit by swapping this year’s Nos. 8 and 75 for it.

That would be contingent on two things, the Lions not loving Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson and the Falcons really loving Wilson.

There’s a lot to love about the 6-foot-6, 271-pounder, who has an 86-inch wingspan. He will make an immediate impact as a pass rusher, but Wilson needs to be a better run defender (the lesser of Atlanta’s concerns).

Myles Murphy, edge, Clemson: If Wilson is off the board, then Murphy is the next best thing. At the moment, Murphy is mid- to low-first round in most mock drafts, but that could change on April 4, when he holds a private workout.

A tweaked hamstring kept him from doing much of anything at the combine or at Clemson’s pro day. A lot of people will be comparing the numbers from Murphy’s workout against the numbers Wilson puts up at the Red Raiders’ pro day Wednesday. Murphy has pedigree (five-star high school prospect) and production (more than 10 tackles for loss each season).

Nolan Smith, Edge, Georgia: Atlanta will be tempted to end the consecutive Georgia guys in the first round to 4, but four consecutive Bulldogs on defense, they might be tempted to extend it.

That’s never a bad strategy when drafting a Georgia defensive player. Smith has the sixth-best relative athletic score (RAS) among defensive ends in this year’s class and ran a blazing 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the combine. Four. Point. Three. Nine. Seconds.

With the 8th pick in the NFL Draft the Atlanta Falcons select….