The Falcons brought in an eight-man draft class, headlined by Michael Penix.
Atlanta is toeing a fine line with their approach at the quarterback position this offseason. If it works out, Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot will have solidified the most important position in sports for the next 15 years.
However, what’s more likely is that it blows up in their faces considering how many things have to go right for the Falcons to come out of this unscathed in any way.
Regardless, the club clearly believes the roster is good enough to compete with Kirk Cousins, so let’s see how the depth chart looks following the draft.
Quarterback
Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix, Taylor Heinicke, John Paddock
Though Atlanta has brought quarterback controversy to its front door, there really shouldn’t be, and there won’t be.
The Falcons drafted Michael Penix with the utmost confidence that he’ll be the next franchise quarterback, but he couldn’t hold a candle to what Kirk Cousins did last year before going down with an Achilles injury. We can all be excited about the prospective future of Penix in Atlanta, while also knowing Cousins gives the Falcons the best chance to win in the immediate.
At this point in their respective careers, Penix is closer to Taylor Heinicke than Cousins. What they do with Heinicke is a mystery, though. There’s no telling whether the Falcons want to keep three quarterbacks on the roster, but there is a new NFL rule that may enable Heinicke to carve out a spot.
In May of 2023, the NFL approved a rule that allows each team to dress a 49th player as its “Emergency Third Quarterback” in case the first two go down with an injury. Heinicke, or possibly even Penix, would be kept on the final 53-man roster and then assigned as the 49th player on the active gameday roster.
Running back
Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Jase McClellan, Avery Williams, Carlos Washington
The Falcons have added a running back for the third consecutive draft.
Two years ago, they added a fifth-round runner out of BYU who would go on to break the franchise’s rookie rushing record. The team followed it up by drafting Bijan Robinson, which puzzled a lot of folks, considering Tyler Allgeier was coming off a great first year and was under contract for pennies.
Nonetheless, Robinson was heralded as one of the top talents in the draft last year, but the Falcons never really maximized his skill set. The hope is that Zac Robinson will change all of that.
Avery Williams is expected to be healthy, but most of his burn will come in the third phase of the game. An ACL injury ended his 2023 campaign before it even got started, but he was a special teams ace in the prior year.
The back they added this offseason is Alabama’s Jace McClellan, who is a well-rounded running back that will probably be the team’s third string.
Wide Reciever
Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Rondale Moore, KhaDarel Hodge, Casey Washington, Ray-Ray McCloud, Josh Ali, Chris Blair, Austin Mack
The Falcons will have two new faces taking on significant roles in the receiver room. Drake London is obviously the top dog in this group with Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore joining over the offseason.
The hope is that Mooney struggled to find the success he did in 2021 when he topped 1,000 yards receiving because of the poor circumstances in Chicago. In Atlanta, Mooney should have better quarterback play and a better offensive system as a whole.
Something similar could be said for Moore as well. He never really found his footing in Arizona, but if Robinson can maximize his skill set, the former third-round pick should enjoy some sort of breakthrough due to a change of scenery.
Hodge and Ray-Ray McCloud seem prime to hold considerable roles on special teams, while Casey Washington joins via the draft and will certainly be kept on the roster as an extra body. Ali, Blair, and Mack are on the outside looking in.
Tight end
Kyle Pitts, Charlie Woerner, John FitzPatrick, Tucker Fisk, Austin Stogner
The Falcons’ tight end room has undergone changes this offseason. Out is Jonnu Smith and MyCole Pruitt, but Atlanta has only replaced them with Charlie Woerner.
The reason is the Falcons’ new offensive coordinator is expected to run much fewer multiple tight end sets than Arthur Smith. Even then, Zac Robinson could very well deploy Kyle Pitts as a wideout of sorts to use Woerner as the H-back, blocking tight end.
I expect the Falcons to keep one of FitzPatrick, Fisk, or Stogner as the third tight end.
Offensive line
Jake Matthews, Matthew Bergeron, Drew Dalman, Chris Lindstrom, Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton, Ryan Neuzil, Jovaughn Gwyn, John Leglue, Barry Wesley, Ryan Swoboda, Tyler Vrabel, Kyle Hinton, Kyle Coll, Nolan Potter
The Falcons are returning all five starters from a year ago.
Matthews and Bergeron will lock down the left side for the second season, while Lindstrom and McGary continue their duo on the right side since entering the league together. Dalman anchors the middle of the line of scrimmage as center.
Behind them, the team’s top reserves are probably Norton and Neuzil. The former stepped in for McGary last year and did about as well as you could reasonably expect for a reserve tackle. Neuzil didn’t perform as well but is about as good as the Falcons have right now and has positional flexibility.
Beyond that, there are probably two spots up for grabs, and your guess is as good as mine.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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