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.”