The Falcons report to training camp this week, which means football is finally back. It’s the best time of the year, and Atlanta is expected to make the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.
Pick your storyline because there are so many. Beginning with Raheem Morris, the new head coach will have no grace period. The expectation is to win the NFC South and host the first postseason game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The reason for that is Kirk Cousins, who signed a $180 million free agent deal this offseason. The veteran is expected to help a talented, yet underachieving Falcons team realize their full potential, none more than their top 10 draft picks.
Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson haven’t lived up to expectations thus far, but with Zac Robinson, Cousins, and one of the best lines in football, the sky is the limit for them.
It’s an exciting camp in 2024, and it should be full of surprises, one of which a Falcons beat reporter has already projected to come to fruition. Marc Raimondi, who replaced Michael Rothstein at ESPN, put out his first 53-man roster projection and had a notable draft pick getting cut — 2022 third-round pick DeAngelo Malone. Among the linebackers, Raimondi has the Falcons keeping three outside linebackers in Lorenzo Carter, Arnold Ebiketie, and Bralen Trice.
The Matt Ryan trade netted a third-round pick, which was used on Malone. Cutting a Day 2 pick after two seasons would be a terrible look for Terry Fontenot, a general manager who already has a less-than-stellar track record in the draft.
One would think the Falcons are looking to keep Malone around because of how thin, unproven, and overall weak the edge unit is, but acting like Malone isn’t on the roster bubble is foolish.
Lorenzo Carter, Arnold Ebiketie, Bralen Trice, and James Smith-Williams make up the edge unit as it stands, but there’s no telling which players will assume what roles in Jimmy Lake’s defense.
Malone wasn’t a natural fit in Ryan Nielsen’s defense last year, as evidenced by taking just two defensive snaps last year, despite the edge room not having a ton of options. There’s hope that Malone will see more opportunities, similar to his rookie campaign when he logged 216 snaps. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Falcons did part ways with him, but in that same breath, he should have a clean slate to impress the new coaching staff. If he is cut, it will once again be a mark against Fontenot’s resumé as a GM.
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