Why it Makes Sense for the Falcons to Trade for Trent Williams

It's no secret that Trent Williams wants out from the Washington Redskins, and at this point it looks like the team will have no choice but to trade him.

The Atlanta Falcons have an elite left tackle in Jake Matthews, so making a move for Williams might not seem like an obvious choice, but there are some reasons that a deal could make plenty of sense.

Even with one of the league's better left tackles, the Falcons' offensive line could use a boost in pass protection after finishing 2019 as one of seven teams to allow 50-plus sacks. They weren't especially close to making the playoffs, going 7-9, but the Falcons are also not a team stuck in a rebuild. They're only two years removed from back-to-back season with double-digit wins. Making roster moves with an eye on the 2020 postseason is likely still on the agenda.

Of course having two left tackles would be redundant, but there are a couple options there. Paying over $13 million per year to a right tackle is unusual, but not unheard of. The Falcons do have a hole on the right side of the line, and they could move one of the two to that spot, which would immediately give them one of the league's most dominant pairs of book-end tackles.

If they'd rather focus on shoring up one side of the line, there are some options there, too. Williams has played left guard for Washington when called on in the past. He was clearly the team's best tackle, so he never stuck at guard, but he's proven to have that kind of versatility.

Unlike replacing Matthews, replacing left guard James Carpenter makes a ton of sense. Pro Football Focus gave Carpenter sub-50 grades in both pass blocking and run blocking in 2019, and Atlanta should be doing everything in their power to replace him for 2020.

It remains to be seen what the asking price for Williams is, but given Washington doesn't have much motivation to keep him, he may not command the kind of huge asking price a top tackle usually would.

Armed with the No. 16 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Atlanta could opt to use some of their draft capital to make a move for the established veteran, which would immediately elevate their offensive line.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.