Atlanta Falcons

2013 NFL Mock Draft: Falcons could find starter in Tank Carradine

The Atlanta Falcons should be in a good spot to land a starter on defense at pick No. 30. Tank Carradine is one option, says Don Banks of SI.com.

By James Brady@jamesbradyisme Apr 4, 2013, 8:00am EDT

The Atlanta Falcons fell short of the Big Game in 2012, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. They've come close to tasting the Super Bowl over the past couple seasons, and their window of opportunity seems to be wide open with their young talent on offense.

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The defense is another story, though. While the team is making a concentrated effort at getting younger by letting guys like Brent Grimes and John Abraham walk in free agency, they could stand to add some young talent in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Don Banks of SI.com released his latest mock draft on Wednesday and he has the Falcons doing just that, taking defensive end Tank Carradine out of Florida State with the No. 30 overall pick.

The Falcons are locked in on anyone who can juice up their pass rush, and they had Carradine in for dinner and a day-long visit this week. As I wrote on Tuesday, Carradine's ACL rehab is ahead of schedule and he's expected to be ready to start contact drills fairly early in the preseason. Carradine's draft stock is on the rise and if he moves well at his April 20 private workout, he could interject himself into the top 25.

Dan Kadar of SB Nation released his latest mock draft on Monday, and he has the Falcons making a similar move with Carradine's Seminoles teammate, defensive end Bjoern Werner. Both players would be able to come in and make an immediate impact as a starter along the defensive line, though in reality both could be gone by then. Still, can't argue with the pick at this point.