We all think Myles Garrett would look good in black and red…but does Myles Garrett think so is the real question.
As soon as six-time All-Pro Myles Garrett made his trade request from the Cleveland Browns public on Monday, the NFL world’s gears started turning. What would it take to snatch the reigning Defensive Player of the Year away from his home for eight years? Who would have the guts, and the assets, to make the move? The Athletic’s Zac Jackson and the rest of the NFL staff found ten potential suitors and what it might take to garner the six-time Pro-Bowler’s services.
One of the suitors just so happens to be the Atlanta Falcons, and Athletic beat writer Josh Kendall outlined a surprisingly realistic trade proposal for Atlanta and their current roster construction.
Browns get: 2025 first-round pick (No. 15) and 2026 first-round pick
Falcons get: Garrett
Making this move would be risky for the Falcons, but if an elite edge rusher is available, they have to at least get all the decision-makers in a room and have the discussion. The Falcons are famously bad at rushing the passer. They were 31st in the NFL in sacks this season (31) and last in the league over the past five (141) and 10 seasons (298).
Still, they can’t overpay. The Falcons’ roster has too many depth holes to fill to give away a lot of draft picks. Atlanta could afford to send out its 2025 and 2026 first-rounders, though, because its top-end offensive talent is in place and Garrett’s presence would raise the level of every defensive player on the roster. Anything beyond that is too much because this team is not one player away from being a contender, even if that player is Garrett.
Everything outlined by Kendall checks out: The Falcons have one of the more exciting offenses in place, especially with the young core of skill position talent to build around. Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Tyler Allgeier are all under 28 and have consistently contributed to Atlanta as they have rebuilt their offense post-Matt Ryan, and Michael Penix is now at the helm of the offense.
Garrett’s presence on a defense alone raises the floor and the ceiling, and if any defense needs a higher floor, it’s the Falcons, especially in the pass-rush department. Since Pro-Football-Reference started gathering pressures as a statistic (2018), Atlanta is dead last with 874. In that span, they are also fifth-worst in defensive yards per play allowed and EPA/play allowed and second-worst in defensive success rate.
Even with all of this, there’s one problem, and Kendall addresses this: The Falcons aren’t Super Bowl contenders as soon as Garrett enters the facility. The talent on the defensive side of the ball isn’t ready for any playoff run, let alone a deep one.
That doesn’t mean the Falcons can’t acquire some defensive talent, even with the Kirk Cousins debacle going awry. According to OverTheCap.com, Atlanta has the most maximum restructuring potential of any team, with over $146 million that could be manufactured.
So, is the Garrett dream completely out of the picture? Absolutely not. Fontenot has proven that he is willing to be aggressive in his approach to roster construction. Even if they did not pan out, the aggressiveness of Justin Simmons and Matthew Judon moves made it known that Terry was willing to shirk complacency and do what needed to be done to field a competitive team.
With Garrett’s no-trade clause in effect, Fontenot will have to prove that he can do more than field a competitive team (which is debatable in its own right), he has to prove that he can field a Super Bowl contender.