Atlanta Falcons turn to defense on Day 2, bolster Raheem Morris’ front seven

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Atlanta Falcons turn to defense on Day 2, bolster Raheem Morris’ front seven

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — After meeting with Atlanta at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Ruke Orhorhoro tossed the baseball cap the Falcons gave him in his car when he got home.

It came in handy Friday night when Atlanta made the Clemson defensive lineman the No. 35 pick of the NFL Draft and their first defensive selection in this year’s draft.

“I’m wearing it right now,” a beaming Orhorhoro said shortly after the pick when he met with media members in Atlanta via Zoom. “I can’t wait to get there. If I could do it today, I’d do it right now.”

The Falcons traded the Nos. 43 and 79 picks to the Arizona Cardinals for Nos. 35 and 186 in order to draft Orhorhoro. According to most projections, it was a reach. Orhorhoro was rated the No. 51 overall prospect and No. 4 defensive tackle by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler. According to the Falcons, though, it was necessary to ensure they were in position to draft the defensive tackle at the top of their board.

Illinois’ Johnny Newton, Texas’ T’Vondre Sweat and Florida State’s Braden Fiske were taken with three of the four picks following Atlanta’s selection of Orhorhoro.

“Once that runs start, (positions) go,” Fontenot said. “When you’re really convicted on a player, that’s why you go up and get him because you don’t know when that run is going to start.”

Atlanta continued to address its defense in the third round Friday, adding Washington edge rusher Bralen Trice, who was rated the No. 82 overall prospect and No. 10 edge rusher by Brugler.

“We didn’t go into today saying we had to take defensive players. We wanted to take good players that fit our ethos and fit what we’re going about. These are those types of guys,” Fontenot said.

Orhorhoro’s pick marked the third straight season the Falcons have traded up in the second round. They moved up to take outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie at No. 38 in 2022 and offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron at No. 38 in 2023.

Newton and Michigan’s Kris Jenkins, the Nos. 2 and 3 defensive tackles in Brugler’s rankings, were still available when Atlanta drafted Orhorhoro. The Clemson product was flattered, and motivated, by Atlanta’s decision to trade up to get him.

“It means they really wanted me and really saw something in me,” he said. “I can’t let them down, and I’ll do everything in my power not to let them down.”

Orhorhoro will join fellow Clemson alum Grady Jarrett and fellow Nigerian David Onyemata on the defensive line in Atlanta. The 6-foot-4, 294-pounder was born in Lagos, Nigeria, before moving to England at the age of 3 and then the United States at the age of 9.

An athletic but unpolished pass rusher, Orhorhoro played 53 games in five seasons at Clemson, totalling 12 sacks in his career.

“I’m a guy who likes to put my nose into stuff,” he said. “I’m a guy that will run into that dark alley with you. I’m a guy that’ll do the jobs people don’t want to do, the dirty work.”

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said he most valued Orhorhoro’s positional flexibility across the front, saying he could play anywhere from nose tackle to end.

“That gives you so many moveable parts,” Morris said. “I’m excited to get him with his coach and teach him how to use his hands better. He provides some of the youth there that we need.”

Trice’s selection strengthened what seemed to be Atlanta’s most obvious area of need entering the draft — pass rusher. The 6-4, 245-pounder had 16 sacks in his final two seasons with the Huskies. He led the FBS in quarterback pressures in 2022 (70) and 2023 (78). Trice credited his mentality for his pass-rush success.

“I look at people like (Raiders defensive end) Maxx Crosby,” he said. “At the end of the day as a pass rusher if you have a motor like that no matter how many times somebody tries to block you, there’s going to be a time you get through there and put the quarterback on the ground.”

Trice was at Washington along with current Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake, who was the Huskies D-coordinator and then head coach. Trice played in 12 games under Lake in 2021, starting twice and registering two sacks.

“Coach Lake has got that dog mentality. He knows when to flip the switch and get after it,” Trice said. “Coach Lake is an amazing coach. He’s one of those coaches where you look back and think, ‘I’m grateful for that.’”

Despite being happy to have Trice, the Falcons made it clear they were aggressively trying to trade back into the first round on Thursday night, and Fontenot said their first target was an edge rusher.

“We called every team from nine all the way to 32,” Fontenot said. “There were times we felt like we were close. We made some pretty big offers. We got in some deeper conversations with some teams. It didn’t work out, but we’re still excited about where we’re at.”

(Photo of Bralen Trice: Tom Hauck / Getty Images)