What the Atlanta Falcons will do with the No. 6 draft pick is more of a mystery than most, given the variety of positions at which the club could use some help. But you can bet Anthony Barr is a character in the play, and Barr will reportedly perform a private workout for the club soon to help general manager Thomas Dimitroff with the decision.
Although the club shored up some needs on the line of scrimmage in free agency, the Falcons could still go with an offensive tackle such as Texas A&M's Jake Matthews. They could go with a defensive presence, perhaps trading up for Jadeveon Clowney at defensive end or taking a linebacker such as Buffalo's Khalil Mack or Barr.
According to ESPN.com, Barr will work out for the club before the end of the month. The workout would apparently be Barr's second with the Falcons: NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt tweeted last week that he spoke with Barr, and that Barr was on his way to Atlanta to meet with the team.
Barr or Mack could give the Falcons a pass-rushing presence from the outside linebacker position, perhaps fitting the club's apparent move to a 3-4 defensive scheme more effectively than Clowney might as an undersized 3-4 defensive end. The Falconswere tied for 29th in the NFL in sacks last year with 32, just one more than the two teams with the fewest sacks, the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars.
In just two seasons as a starter at linebacker, Barr made 41 tackles for loss and 23.5 sacks for the Bruins. That's the sort of big-play production Atlanta was sorely lacking in its defensive front last year.
He fits the Falcons' needs. But so do plenty of others.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
