The Atlanta Falcons are not in an ideal situation with the salary cap, thanks to Kirk Cousins’ contract. They enter the offseason around $7 million in the red, but depending on what they are able to do with Cousins — along with contract restructures, extensions, and cuts — Terry Fontenot is fully capable of making a few significant additions.
ESPN just released their list of the top 50 free agents of this year’s class. A list that features a number of pass rushers, which once again has to be the top priority for the Falcons entering the offseason after another season of finishing near the bottom of the league in sacks and pressures.
Khalil Mack
Entering his age-34 season, Khalil Mack might not be as dominant as he once was, but he still made his ninth Pro Bowl in the last ten years, racking up six sacks and 41 pressures. This comes a year after recording a career-high 17.0 sacks in 2023 with 21 tackles for loss. Even nearing the end of his career, Mack would instantly become the Falcons’ best pass rusher.
Josh Sweat
Josh Sweat is coming off another productive season for the Eagles, racking up eight sacks and 33 pressures in a dominant Philadelphia defense. He has at least six sacks in every season since 2020, recording a career-high 11.0 in 2022. It won’t be as easy for Sweat to carry that kind of production over to Atlanta, where he wouldn’t be surrounded by All-Pros, but he’s another player that would instantly become the Falcons best pass rusher and will be 28 next season.
Osa Odighizuwa
Osa Odighizuwa is coming off a career-high 4.5 sacks for the Cowboys as an interior pass rusher. He’s arguably the top defensive tackle on the market and can provide the Falcons with some much-needed push up the middle. Something Atlanta thought they would get this past season with Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata. With the futures of Jarrett and Onyemata unknown as they enter the final year of their respective contracts, finding guys that can get after the quarterback from the defensive tackle position is just as important as finding EDGE rushers.
Haason Reddick
Haason Reddick held out to begin the 2024 campaign, which led to him recording just one sack in ten games. That’s going to cost him a lot of money this offseason, but he’s still just 30-years-old and recorded at least 11 sacks in every season from 2020-2023. He’s another guy that would instantly become the Falcons most productive pass rusher on the roster.
Malcolm Koonce
A knee injury prevented Malcolm Koonce from suiting up in 2024, but he recorded eight sacks in his third season at 25 years old. Assuming he’s fully healthy, he’s an intriguing target with some upside that will be just 27 next season.
Chase Young
Chase Young hasn’t blossomed into the All-Pro pass rusher many expected him to become when he was the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s played on three different teams over the last two seasons, but he’s still a guy that can provide anywhere from 5-8 sacks a year. For the Falcons, that’s pretty much elite production.
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Photo: Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire
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