PFF highlights strengths and weaknesses of roster and ranks Falcons' personnel 25th in the NFL

The folks over at Pro Football Focus are generally unbias in their rankings, as they usually back up their positions with concrete, numerical proof. Using the PFF database, they looked at both PFF grades from the 2020 season and a more comprehensive look at each player’s career using PFF grades and statistics. Purely based on personnel, I can’t necessarily disagree with the 25th ranking the Falcons were given, but I do have a gripe to pick. Do quarterbacks mean nothing anymore? Matt Ryan is a top-10 quarterback in this league and one who can cover up small deficiencies on the roster, but there was no positional value accounted for in these rankings. Here are the roster’s strengths, weaknesses, and X-factor according to PFF:

Biggest strength: There is plenty of reason for positivity surrounding the receiving corps in Atlanta, even after trading away Julio Jones. Calvin Ridley showed last season that he could be a legitimate No. 1 option when Jones missed time with injury. His 2.44 receiving yards per route run in 2020 ranked seventh among qualifying wide receivers. Rookie tight end Kyle Pitts should add a different element to the passing attack, as well. He dominated as a receiver from multiple alignments at Florida last season, earning a 96.2 PFF grade on the year.

Biggest weakness: The Falcons allowed 7.0 yards per pass play last season. Only the Jaguars and Lions allowed more on average. Atlanta struggled to generate a consistent pass rush without the aid of the blitz, and its young secondary was beaten with regularity in coverage. From a personnel perspective, it’s tough to see that getting much better in 2021. Notable offseason additions on defense, such as Richie Grant and Duron Harmon, merely offset the losses of Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen. Dean Pees has his work cut out for him in his first year as defensive coordinator.

X factor for 2021: Dante Fowler Jr. came nowhere close to living up to the three-year, $45 million contract he signed with Atlanta prior to last season. Coming off a career-high 72.0 PFF grade and 67 pressures with the Rams in 2019, Fowler recorded a grade of just 49.9 with Atlanta last season. His pressure rate fell from 14.0% in 2019 to 7.8% in 2020 (seventh-lowest among edge defenders with at least 300 pass-rushing snaps). The Falcons need a bounce-back season from him.

The obvious mark is the skill players Atlanta still has after trading Julio Jones, but to not even mention the reliable play of Matt Ryan is disrespectful. More than 10 teams ranked ahead of the Falcons with worse quarterback play, but again, these rankings didn’t take into account the most important position on the field. Deion Jones and Foye Oluokun getting no love is something I expected, but I ranked off-ball linebackers as the team’s biggest strength.

An interesting tidbit is PFF’s choice for the roster’s weakness… safety? I don’t disagree that Richie Grant and Duron Harmon are a slightly lateral move from Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen. Still, I don’t get the choice to ignore the edge rusher position, which has to be the weakest link by far and one I chose as the weakest position group.

I couldn’t agree more with their choice for X factor because Dante Fowler is by far the most talented and proven pass rusher of the position group. 2020 was Fowler’s worst season thus far — career lows in sacks and games played, missed more tackles than usual, and less effective against the run. He took a pay-cut and had a year voided from his contract, so the future for Fowler in Atlanta doesn’t like great. A contract year motivates players like none else, so we could potentially see a new and improved Dante Fowler. But the best player at the weakest position group, in my eyes, will certainly be any team’s X factor.

PFF highlights strengths and weaknesses of roster and ranks Falcons’ personnel 25th in the NFL

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