Atlanta Falcons
Projected Cap Space: -$8.4 million
Draft Picks: 4
- 1st (No. 15)
- 2nd (No. 46)
- 4th (No. 117)
- 7th (No. 244, LAR)
Notable Free Agents:
- C Drew Dalman
- OLB Matt Judon
- S Justin Simmons
- LB Nathan Landman (RFA)
- OLB Lorenzo Carter
- DE James Smith-Williams
- CB Dee Alford (RFA)
- C Ryan Neuzil (RFA)
- DL Kentavius Street
- WR Rondale Moore
- CB Mike Hughes
- S Richie Grant
- OT Storm Norton
Top Three Needs
1 – Defensive Line
One consequence of all the resources the Falcons sunk into the offense last offseason — and specifically the quarterback position with $100 million in free agency to Kirk Cousins and the No. 8 pick on Michael Penix Jr. — is that the pass rush was left weaker. The Falcons tried to backstop things with second and third-round picks on DT Ruke Orhorhoro and DE Bralen Trice, plus trading a 2025 third-rounder during the preseason to the Patriots for Judon.
But Trice missed the year with an injury, Orhorhoro played less than 150 snaps and Judon had just 5.5 sacks. The Falcons ranked next-to-last in the league with 31 sacks and weren’t much better in pressure rate, ranking 25th at 20 percent. After finishing the season ranked 23rd in both scoring defense and total defense, the Falcons fired DC Jimmy Lake after just one season and replaced him with former Jets DC Jeff Ulbrich.
Ulbrich was a key part of building some quality defensive units with the Jets over the past few years, and all of them had the foundation of being strong up front. With Penix locked in as the starter for 2025, expect the top priority for the Falcons to be a makeover of their front four on defense. They have to figure out what they have with recent draft picks who are under contract like Orhorhoro, Trice, DL Brandon Dorlus, DE Arnold Ebiketie and DL Zach Harrison, as well as whether tenured but expensive veterans like DT Grady Jarrett and DT David Onyemata are worth the cost at this stage in their careers — particularly with limited cap space.
At minimum, it feels like the Falcons could bring in two new starting edge rushers, or at least two players who would get the first run in the heavy rotation Ulbrich likes to use. Defensive tackle depends on whether Jarrett and/or Onyemata are cap casualties but the Falcons will likely make some degree of investment there as well.
2 – Cornerback
The lack of a pass rush didn’t make things easy for the Falcons’ secondary but the group as a whole still wasn’t a strength for Atlanta in 2024. While CB AJ Terrell is a quality top option, the Falcons haven’t been able to build up the rest of the room around him. They relied on Alford and Hughes, both of whom are pending free agents. Neither would be difficult to bring back and would be quality depth options but the Falcons also should look to try and improve over those two if they can.
3 – Tight End
While the Falcons are set to lose Dalman, who is an under-the-radar candidate for the Christian Kirk “he signed for how much?” award this year, they can manage that with Ryan Neuzil and another low-cost addition, as the scheme Falcons OC Zac Robinson runs doesn’t need a dominant center.
What Robinson’s scheme could use is a more well-rounded tight end than Kyle Pitts, who languished for another season. Pitts hasn’t been able to follow up his impressive 1,000-yard rookie season in the three years since for a variety of reasons, including injuries, misuse from the coaching staff and probably Pitts himself. It’s not clear how the blame pie should be divided but what is clear is that Pitts was not a priority for the offense last year. If the Falcons traded Pitts this offseason, they would shed his $10.878 million salary which is guaranteed under the fifth-year option, creating valuable cap space and adding a pick for a team that is in the red currently and has just four selections.
The Falcons would need to replace Pitts with another starting-caliber tight end but that player would almost certainly be cheaper and a better fit for Robinson’s system. It’s a textbook addition-by-subtraction scenario.
One Big Question
What does Michael Penix Jr. look like as a full-time starter?
The Falcons had sky-high hopes for last season even though it was the first year for HC Raheem Morris. Atlanta fired former HC Arthur Smith because it felt it was a quarterback away from being a real factor in the NFC, then went out and made a big splash in free agency by signing Cousins. For most teams, that would have been the end of it, but the Falcons doubled down, using the No. 8 pick on Penix to ideally ensure the present and future of the position was taken care of.
The pick drew tons of criticism at the time and unquestionably damaged the relationship with Cousins while it should have still been in the honeymoon phase. But given the way the 2024 season played out, it could prove to be a shrewd move. Cousins had moments but ultimately was not as good as he was in 2023 before tearing his Achilles, regardless of how healthy or not healthy his actual Achilles was. Mounting injuries and poor performance led to him being benched for Penix at the end of the season, and the Falcons turned the page to that era sooner than they hoped.
Now the Falcons are full steam ahead with Penix. The way last year played out shows the Falcons were mistaken in believing they were a quarterback away from contending, but they have another offseason to try and patch up those holes. Penix got three starts to end last year and was up and down. The physical skills that appealed to the Falcons were apparent but he completed less than 60 percent of his pass attempts, threw three interceptions, fumbled twice and ultimately went 1-2 with overtime losses to the Commanders and Panthers with a chance to sneak into the playoffs.
How Penix looks with a full offseason to prepare and integrate into the scheme will ultimately be one of the biggest factors in whether the Falcons break through into the playoffs or disappoint for another season.
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