Takk McKinley Calls the Falcons Clowns for Not Trading Him for 2nd-Round Pick

Fourth-year defensive end Takk McKinley criticized the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday for not trading him over the past two seasons.

McKinley tweeted that the Falcons turned down a second-round pick for him last year and a fifth- and sixth-round pick for him this year:

The 25-year-old McKinley went 26th overall to Atlanta in the 2017 NFL draft after a standout collegiate career at UCLA. McKinley's first two NFL seasons were productive, but he dropped off significantly after that.

McKinley registered six sacks as a rookie and followed that up with a career-high seven sacks in 2018. Over the past two seasons combined, McKinley has just 4.5 sacks, giving him 17.5 in four NFL campaigns.

The 6'2", 265-pound pass-rusher said he requested a trade last season in the midst of a 3.5-sack performance and did so again this season after the Falcons declined the fifth-year option in his contract for 2021.

McKinley has appeared in and started four games this season and has just one sack to his credit, which speaks to how far he has fallen out of favor.

Since playing 69 percent of the defensive snaps and recording a sack in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, McKinley has recorded no additional sacks and has not played more than 37 percent of the defensive snaps in a game.

If the Falcons truly had a chance to trade McKinley for a second-round pick last year, it was a huge missed opportunity for former general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who was fired this season after an 0-5 start.

McKinley has not come close to living up to his first-round pick billing over the past two years especially, so recouping a second-rounder would have been huge for Atlanta.

Even getting a fifth- or sixth-rounder this year would have been considered a win since the Falcons are not contenders and seem highly unlikely to re-sign McKinley when he becomes a free agent this offseason.

If there was any level of interest in McKinley at all prior to Tuesday's trade deadline, it is difficult to comprehend why the Falcons didn't leap at the opportunity to move him.