The Falcons are 1-2, but it doesn’t feel like the same start to the season as it has in past years.
The club has played nowhere close to their best ball thus far and went down to the wire with the 3-0 Steelers, who might have the best defense in the league, and the 3-0, two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
It will take time for Kirk Cousins, who is coming off an Achilles injury with no reps in the preseason, to shake the rust off and learn this new system along with his personnel. In that same breath, Zac Robinson is learning to be a play caller for the first time, and his personnel as well.
The Falcons offense will look much better at the end of the season, but the defense has impressed, held down by the secondary. However, one facet of Jimmy Lake’s unit is a major concern. Shocker, it’s the pass rush.
Atlanta ranks second to last in pressures, pressure rate, sacks, sack rate, and just about every other pass rushing metric. The Falcons have drafted eight defensive linemen since 2021, when Terry Fontenot took over GM duties in Atlanta, and the pass rush hasn’t improved at all.
The hope was that a Falcons trade for Matt Judon would help in that area, but he’s never been the pin-your-ears-back and win-one-on-ones type of pass rusher. He’s better suited coming off twists and stunts.
Arnold Ebiketie, Zach Harrison, Lorenzo Carter, James Smith-Williams, Ruke Orhorhoro, Brandon Dorlus, DeAngelo Malone, and every other pass rusher not named Grady Jarrett or Judon has been practically useless.
Hell, the Falcons second-best pure pass rusher might be an off-ball linebacker, Kaden Elliss. The club has to simply invest more into the position, and the trade deadline is a great way to do that, with a pair of New York pass rushers being potential Falcons trade targets.
Azeez Ojulari is set to be a free agent in 2025, and the Giants aren’t expected to compete for a spot in the postseason. The 2021 second-round pick had eight sacks as a rookie and another 5.5 sacks in 2022 but hasn’t matched that level of production since.
Some of that can be attributed to Ojulari falling out of favor in New York. The Giants have invested heavily in the position in recent years; Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns are the future, making Ojulari expendable.
The other is a familiar name — Haason Reddick. The Jets traded for the All-Pro this offseason after Reddick demanded a new contract from the Eagles, who weren’t willing to comply. Somehow, New York thought it would be different.
About two weeks ago, SNY’s Connor Hughes reported that “people that know him well” believe Reddick is willing to sit out the entire season. From a pure pass rushing standpoint, Reddick would immediately become the club’s best, but the Falcons would have to be willing to give into his contractual demands, which would surely be around $25 million per year.
The Falcons desperately need an influx of talent in this area; Reddick and Ojulari are capable of providing that. The latter would be much cheaper, but the former would actually strike fear into opposing offenses.
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