No pick, no problem: New Falcons GM prepping for first round anyway | Opinion

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Ian Cunningham is heading into his first NFL Draft as the Atlanta Falcons general manager without a first-round pick. Yet in another sense the first-time GM will indeed be in the mix when the Los Angeles Rams – who obtained the choice from Atlanta last year – turn in their card for the 13th pick overall Thursday night.

“I’ve been thinking about this, trying to get a dry run, like what would it have been like,” Cunningham said Monday during the team’s pre-draft press conference. “‘We’re on the clock at 13,’ to try to get an extra rep at it, maybe. So, just trying to find some little things that we may be able to do to kind of stay engaged.

But also, you get some practice. ” Now that’s a different twist for a mock draft. The GM getting mental reps.

Imagine who you could have had. Of course, there’s nothing like the real thing. Barring a trade, the Falcons won’t make a selection until halfway through the second round Friday night, when they are pegged to pick 48th overall.