2022 Atlanta Falcons Offseason

[Jamaaliver]

Atlanta Falcons Offseason

Biggest need: Wide receiver
We'd be fine if the Falcons used their first-round pick to try to find Matt Ryan's long-term replacement, but at least current starter Marcus Mariota has starting experience and was in some demand this offseason. He's fine as a bridge until something better comes along, and there's always the chance that Arthur Smith can help him flourish in a new system. Instead, for the biggest need, we turn to the receiving room. With Calvin Ridley suspended for a year for gambling and Russell Gage off to Tampa Bay, Atlanta has the worst receiving corps in football at the moment.

Atlanta entered the offseason with just one receiver under contract who caught a pass in 2021 -- Frank Darby, the special teams gunner who caught exactly one, from Josh Rosen in garbage time against the Cowboys. That necessitated a lot of work, and to their credit the Falcons have been busy. They re-signed Olamide Zaccheaus and brought in Damiere Byrd, KhaDarel Hodge and Auden Tate from outside the organization.

That means the receiving room as a whole caught 74 passes last season for 945 yards. That's fine for one player; it's basically DK Metcalf's 2021 season. But as a receiving room it's a nightmare. Zaccheaus is a fine contributor; he's the only receiver on the roster who has ever had a qualified season with positive receiving DVOA. But he's a nice third receiver or slot guy, not the focal point of an offense. Even with Kyle Pitts continuing to develop, the Falcons simply do not have the makings of an NFL-caliber passing attack; you can't just skate by with journeyman Day 3 picks and undrafted free agents.

Prospects who might fit: Garrett Wilson, Drake London


Quiet need: Defensive tackle
The Falcons basically need one of everything, so "quiet need" is a matter of degrees here. Grady Jarrett is still a fine player but he is on the last year of his deal. Even with him in the lineup, the Falcons ranked 29th in adjusted line yards and 32nd in short-yardage success in 2021 -- they simply could not get any sort of push to stop the run game. With Tyeler Davison released, the Falcons have Marlon Davidson and Ta'Quon Graham penciled in on the line next to Jarrett, and either or both could be improved upon. Given the choice, a five-tech end would likely be more valuable than a nose tackle or three-tech, but the Falcons have enough holes that they could plug any reasonably talented rookie into the lineup.

Prospects who might fit: Perrion Winfrey, DeMarvin Leal


Not a need: Tight end
Pitts was more or less as advertised last season. He didn't quite crack the top 10 rookie tight ends of all time by either DYAR or DVOA, but that's more of a statement on the overall quality of the Falcons' offense than a slam on Pitts, who was the closest thing to a dynamic player Atlanta could roll out a year ago. They still needed a second tight end until April 13, when they added Anthony Firkser to fill out the depth chart. Firkser is coming off his worst season as a pro, but he's far from the worst player in the Falcons' projected lineup.

ESPN Insider

[HMFFL]

Falcons signed DT Grady Jarrett to a three-year contract extension worth up to $67 million. 

The deal includes $34.5 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Jarrett, coming off a one-sack season, didn't seem all that likely to return to the Falcons in 2022 until the sides struck a deal Tuesday. A two time Pro Bowler, Jarrett, 29, will anchor the Atlanta defensive line for the foreseeable future. He's three years removed from his dominant 2019 season in which he recorded 7.5 sacks. 

SOURCE: Ian Rapoport on Twitter

May 3, 2022, 10:09 AM ET



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[HMFFL]

The Las Vegas Raiders are trading third-year wide receiver Bryan Edwards to the Atlanta Falcons, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The @Raiders are trading wide receiver Bryan Ewards to the Atlanta Falcons. Terms not disclosed.

— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) May 13, 2022

ESPN is reporting the Raiders are sending Edwards, a third-round draft pick out of South Carolina in 2020,and a seventh-round pick next year to the Falcons for a 2023 fifth-round pick. He reunites with former Las Vegas quarterback quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is expected to start the season as the starter in Atlanta.

https://www.silverandblackpride.com/2022/5/13/23071445/raiders-bryan-edwards-falcons-trade

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[graymule]

Wide receiver? Yep. Drafted a really good one. Just traded for another one, Bryan Edwards a 6'3" from the Raiders, who had a surplus. Traded a 5th round pick from next season for him and a 7th round pick.

Lote of rookies and free agent additions will change the looks for this upcoming season. If we can actually block, watch out!

[Jamaaliver]

Falcons Building a Monstrous lineup of Oversized Pass-Catchers



By featuring Drake London, Bryan Edwards and Auden Tate, as well as tight end Kyle Pitts and John FitzPatrick, the Falcons now have five targets who are 6'3" or taller. Of the five, Edwards is the only one under 6'4". FitzPatrick, whom the team selected in this year's sixth round, is a massive tight end at 6'7" and 250 pounds.

These moves aren't new by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the Falcons aren't the only team undertaking the same offensive shift. The Indianapolis Colts are another example with their group of targets—Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Dezmon Patmon, Mike Strachan, Mo Alie-Cox, Jelani Woods and Andrew Ogletree—all stand between 6'3" and 6'7". A certain amount of success seems to derive from a commitment to finding size mismatches within an offense.

"The teams with the biggest receivers didn't all field great passing attacks, but some did, including four of the top five teams in pass offense DVOA," Football Outsiders' Mike Tanier wrote. "But the win-loss records here are remarkable. Nine of the top 10 teams had winning records, six made the playoffs, and four won their divisions."

Spoiler:

Today's tendencies lean toward more speed and explosivity to create chunk plays and lessen the chances of making mistakes within the passing game. London is the outlier compared to other recent WR selections. The Falcons made the USC product this year's WR1 with this year's eighth overall pick. London is literally a former basketball player who played for the Trojans' hardwood team. At 6'4" and 213 pounds, the 20-year-old target is the biggest wide receiver taken among the top-10 selections since Mike Williams in 2017. Otherwise, Mike Evans and Calvin Johnson are the only two bigger than both to enter the draft in the last 15 years and become top-10 picks.

The receiver's basketball background shows in his play. Despite his size, London has nimble feet with flexible hips. He sinks in and out of his routes and runs them with the suddenness of a much smaller target. When those traits are coupled with his size and body control, an elite prospect emerges. Throughout the process, the only lingering question centered on his top-end speed, which teams never verified because London didn't run the 40-yard dash after coming off a fractured ankle.

"I think he's one of the best receivers I've ever seen," a collegiate coach told The Athletic's Bruce Feldman. "He can really high-point the ball, and he runs routes like a little guy, getting in and out of his cuts. He's not afraid to get dirty. People may question his top-end [speed], and he probably won't wow you, but his functional football speed, with his pads on, is really good."

Top targets don't need to be burners, though. Evans is a four-time Pro Bowl selection after posting a 4.53-second 40-yard dash. Cooper Kupp is coming off the greatest season ever by a wide receiver, and he posted a 4.62. London doesn't need elite straight-line speed to be a consistent threat.

"Everybody knew where the ball was going," London told reporters after USC's pro day. "I had triple coverage, double coverage all game, and it still didn't stop me. So whatever they say about that, I could care less."

London's 135.5 yards per game in 2021 ranked second just behind the nation's leading receiver Jerreth Sterns, despite USC's passing offense averaging eight fewer attempts per game and 135.4 fewer yards per contest.

More importantly, London ranked first among this year's class when targeted on routes run against man coverage (44 percent), per Pro Football Focus' Dwain McFarland. Yahoo Sports' Matt Harmon noted London posted a 72.8 percent success rate versus man coverage.

These stats show he's creating separation and getting open even when other teams are trying to lock him down. Less athletic wide receivers can struggle when they aren't gifted free releases with jams near the line of scrimmage, thus rerouting them and becoming less available as a target. London still worked to get open and overcame each opponent's best coverage defender.

As talented as the Falcons' rookie wide receiver is, he'll likely be the team's secondary receiving threat with Kyle Pitts on the roster.

Pitts thrived in his first season and fell just short of setting the rookie tight end record with 1,026 receiving yards. The 21-year-old did become the first-ever rookie tight end to eclipse 60 receptions and 1,000 yards and even earned a Pro Bowl nod. Once again, Pitts' intimidation factors extend beyond his size. Yes, he's a 6'6", 246-pound threat, but he also runs routes like a wide receiver. In fact, he's more than capable of lining up as the X or in the slot and looks perfectly comfortable working over defensive backs or linebackers. He's truly a unicorn at the position based on his blend of size, athleticism and flexibility.

Now, the Falcons can line Pitts and London on one side in twins formations, or they can place one on each side and force a defense to choose which way it rolls coverage responsibilities. The duo can run switch routes off one another. London can line up on the inside with Pitts working outside the numbers. They can overwhelm, out-physical and outplay anyone.

Regardless, the Falcons can throw in the 6'5" Tate and 6'3" Edwards as extra big-bodied targets to spend the majority of their time between the numbers and the sideline.

The sheer size of these options should help in Marcus Mariota's second chance as a starting quarterback or Ridder's development. Bigger targets mean larger catch radiuses. Thus, the team's quarterbacks don't require pinpoint accuracy. They simply must put the ball on their targets and let the investments Atlanta made with basketball-adjacent starters work like power forwards trying to average 10 rebounds per game.

Bleacher Report

[Jamaaliver]

Falcons have gone a long way towards improving that receiving corps.

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[graymule]

Tiny, unnoticed moves continue for the Falcons. There is hope that this team will be much better than
the one we watched last season. Schedule looks tough. Expectations are only 5 or 6 wins at best. Yet
we who follow them, season after season, see a better opportunity to do more. To upset the odds.

From last year's team, everything needed improvement except the field goal, extra point attempts.
We kept our kicker. But we dropped our punter and long snapper. New blood coming here.

QB will be much different. Falcons now have two really good replacements, I believe. Both with the
ability to get out of the pocket and run the ball. Matty Ice did this a few times but not on a regular
basis. He stayed in the pocket, passed, or we saw him on the ground, being sacked.

Our two weakest parts of the team were defensive sacks and, on offense, pass catchers. These were
addressed in the draft and in free agency. On paper they are much improved. We will see when the
season opens whether or not that this is true.

[Jamaaliver]

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[HMFFL]

:D

Wide receiver? Yep. Drafted a really good one. Just traded for another one, Bryan Edwards a 6'3" from the Raiders, who had a surplus. Traded a 5th round pick from next season for him and a 7th round pick.

Lote of rookies and free agent additions will change the looks for this upcoming season. If we can actually block, watch out!

We certainly seem to have a great deal of high energy talent now. We retained many of our veterans, older, and younger by giving them extensions. We need the dead cap from Matt Ryan and others to be cleared after the upcoming season and some positive things will occur. Go Falcons

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[graymule]

We have a problem. I expect national sports writers to talk bad about the Falcons. What I didn't expect was to have them rated as bad as they are right now. Started out with 5.5 wins being the expected. It goes down the hill from there. Name almost any thing and if Atlanta isn't rated in last place, they are close.

[Jamaaliver]

:oops:

We have a problem. I expect national sports writers to talk bad about the Falcons. What I didn't expect was to have them rated as bad as they are right now. Started out with 5.5 wins being the expected. It goes down the hill from there. Name almost any thing and if Atlanta isn't rated in last place, they are close.

It is tough to be a Falcons fan right now...at least we have the Braves!!

[Jamaaliver]

Offseason grades for all 32 NFL teams

Atlanta Falcons: C-

Key moves:

• Signed Marcus Mariota.
  
• Traded away Matt Ryan.
  
• Drafted Drake London, Arnold Ebiketie and Troy Andersen

Atlanta’s rebuild is in full force, and sinking below the team’s recent seven-win threshold will help set up a better draft pick in 2023. That certainly looks like the plan, given the low-wattage moves and more than $63 million in dead cap space for 2022.

USA Today

[graymule]

USA Today has this Falcon team winning two games this season.

Defense seems to be ahead of the offense right now. One more week and then our first pre-season game. If we win only two games this will mean that in 15 games that we faced some mighty fine teams. I know. Tough schedule. Note: This year's Falcon team is younger, bigger and faster than our team of last season.

Our quarterback will be much quicker on his feet than Matty Ice and will not live in the pocket. Doesn't matter which QB we have on the field; this will be true. Third string QB is also working out as a tight end. He will be available any time he's needed.

If USA Today is correct, 15 losses will be really, really tough on whoever gets those wins against this Falcon team.

[Jamaaliver]

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[graymule]

Tonight is the night! We finally get a peak at the 2022 version of the Atlanta Falcons. Exhibition game #1 as these birds fly into the Lion's den @ 6 PM. Coaches of both teams have starters going for at least the 1st quarter!

[Jamaaliver]

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