FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons executed a trade late last week with the Jacksonville Jaguars, sending defensive lineman Ruke Orhorhoro to Jacksonville and acquiring defensive lineman Maason Smith. Both linemen were drafted by their original teams in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Smith just 13 picks after Orhorhoro.
Smith is someone Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham said he has been evaluating him for a while, "since his time at LSU."
The reason for this player-for-player trade within the same position group was because of the differing skillsets between the two and how the coaching staffs of each organization sees their needs. Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said he would constitute the trade as being "good for them, good for us."
"It just felt like Maason's ability to work inside was something that we were looking for," Stefanski said, "and obviously, we think highly of Ruke, but maybe the usage of both players is a little bit different. So, good opportunity for us to add a player that we feel like is a little bit more inside and potentially they see Ruke as a player more inside to outside as well."
And therein lies the rub.
As Cunningham would go onto explain, the Falcons felt they needed a nose tackle, they got a more traditional one in the trade.
"Everybody knows the measurables," Cunningham said of the 6-foot-5, 306 pound Smith, "but it's a player that can play nose tackle and three-tech for us."
The Falcons needed to take a step in their run defense, while the Jaguars needed to do so in their pass rush.
"We felt like we had an opportunity to potentially get an ascending player that can provide a little bit in the rush," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said of Orhorhoro on Monday. "It's hard to find big men that can move like that on the interior part of your defense without giving up in the run game. That's something we want to continue to be top-notch at, which we were in the NFL this past season, but something we want to look at, and Ruke gives us an opportunity -- a big man that can move and get in the rush plan as well, and showed the ability to get after the quarterback a little bit so that was something that we felt like was going to fit with us."
Overall, Stefanski and Cunningham agree this was the best move for both organizations at this particular juncture of the offseason.
"We really are excited about (Smith) in an attacking front and being able to get up field," Cunningham concluded. "He's strong, he's physical. We're excited about his upside and getting him with coach Brich (Jeff Ulbrich) and coach (Nate) Ollie to see him take that next step."
