The Athletic unsurprisingly listed the Atlanta Falcons among the top 10 teams that make the most sense for Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett. The four-time first-team All-Pro publicly requested a trade on Feb. 3.
The Athletic also proposed what it might cost the Falcons to acquire Garrett. As expected, it's not going to be cheap.
Although the Falcons only gave up two draft picks in the publication's proposed deal on Feb. 4, both were first-round selections.
To land Garrett, The Athletic suggested the Falcons part with their No. 15 overall pick this year and 2026 first-round choice.
"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)," wrote Josh Kendall.
"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."
As good as Garrett is, two first-rounders should be more than enough to land the edge rusher. Even giving up the No. 15 overall pick is a lot when considering the rookie the Falcons draft in 2025 could have All-Pro potential and be on an affordable rookie deal for five years.
Garrett is 29. By the time that rookie is ready for his second contract, Garrett will likely be in decline. And in The Athletic's proposed deal, the Falcons are giving up the possibility of landing two All-Pro players, or at least two reliable starters, by shipping two firsts to Cleveland for Garrett.
The Athletic seemed to suggest that will be the going rate for the Browns edge rusher this offseason. Interestingly, though, The Athletic's Dianna Russini implied otherwise.
She wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that an NFL general manager told her Garrett is worth a first and second-round pick or perhaps a first and two second-round choices.
If the Falcons send this year's first and second-round pick to Cleveland for Garrett, that'd be significantly better than two firsts. But it would greatly hinder general manager Terry Fontenot in the 2025 NFL draft.
In fact, the Falcons wouldn't pick until No. 117 overall.
Pundits can sometimes be very wrong when it comes to reporting projected trade compensation. Some suggested quarterback Justin Fields could be worth a first-rounder last offseason, and the Pittsburgh Steelers eventually acquired him for a conditional sixth-round choice.
It'll be interesting to see what Garrett's market is when the trade shopping begins. Of course, assuming the Browns do shop Garrett, which they aren't convinced they must do yet.
