The Falcons fixed their biggest issue this offseason by acquiring Kirk Cousins in free agency to replace Desmond Ridder. The improvement alone at the most important position in all of sports will make Atlanta a significantly better football team from a year ago. However, if the Falcons are to be legitimate threats in the NFC, they really needed to find several impact players throughout the draft, and just a few weeks ahead of the season, that’s looking highly unlikely.
Most notably, Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris decided to spend the 8th overall pick on another quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. It was an unprecedented move following the signing of Kirk Cousins, and while we won’t know for a while if it was a good one, we do know it’s unlikely Penix sees much of the field as a rookie.
In the following three rounds, the Falcons addressed arguably their biggest need coming into the draft, the pass rush. They traded up to the top of the second round to select defensive lineman Ruke Orhorhoro out of Clemson. Most draft pundits considered it a reach, which may or may not be a fair judgment, but at the very least, it is expected to take some time for Orhorhoro to reach his full potential. It feels unlikely that he makes a huge impact as a rookie.
In the third round, the Falcons selected Bralen Trice out of Washington, who led the country in pressures last season at the collegiate level. Unlike Orhorhoro, Trice seemed like a player that could come in and immediately bolster the Falcons pass rush, but he’s now out for the season after suffering a knee injury in his first preseason contest against the Dolphins on Friday.
Brandon Dorlus was the Falcons fourth-round pick, and immediately, draft pundits were calling it one of the steals of the draft, but how much can Atlanta really expect from a fourth-round pick? We’ll see because he should have every opportunity to earn some playing time throughout the season.
The Falcons fifth-round pick, JD Bertrand, won’t see the field much at all outside of special teams. The Falcons have three talented linebackers in Troy Andersen, Kaden Elliss, and Nate Landman that will receive all of the reps at the second level. Atlanta also had a trio of sixth-round picks, but expecting major contributions from any of them in year one is nothing more than wishful thinking.
It’s never a bright idea to judge a draft class before any of them have even taken a meaningful snap, and in truth, this entire class will be remembered by Michael Penix’s development. If he can turn into the organization’s next franchise QB, everybody else could flop, and it would still be a successful draft.
However, as far as this season goes, it’s a bleak outlook for a team that really needed to find some impactful rookies to help them reach contender status. Raheem Morris and Jimmy Lake have quite the task on their hands to make this defense look competent.
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Photo: Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire
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