What the Falcons should take away from Super Bowl LIX

The Eagles dominated the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, and there are plenty of lessons for the Falcons to learn, but there’s one in particular that is more obvious than the rest.

The Falcons should take a page out of the Eagles front office’s playbook

By now, you’ve seen or heard someone bring up the fact that the Falcons had a chance to draft a bulk of Philadelphia’s impact defenders, including Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Cooper DeJean, and Jordan Davis.

While Bijan Robinson has been a certified star, there’s no arguing the fact that an elite defensive lineman is more valuable in today’s NFL than an elite running back, and that rings even more true for a team like the Falcons, who have struggled in that specific area for years. Jalen Carter was there for the taking, and Terry Fontenot decided to draft a running back, albeit one of the best in football.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t even underscore the main takeaway the Falcons should come away with, which is how they’ve drafted since Fontenot has taken over. In two of the Falcons’ four drafts under Fontenot, the team has taken historically invaluable positions — tight end and running back.

Meanwhile, let’s take a look at who the Eagles drafted in that same span in the first round — a wide receiver, defensive tackle, defensive tackle, outside linebacker, and cornerback. Those are traditionally valuable positions.

Let’s take it a step further because we have to give credit where credit is due. Terry Fontenot has drafted positions of value in the second and third rounds since taking over in Atlanta — a couple of offensive linemen, and a few defenders in the front seven. The only issue is those players, outside of Matthew Bergeron, have been nothing more than rotational pieces at best.

So, while we can say the Falcons haven’t been using their resources as wisely as they could’ve, which is true, is anyone confident Terry Fontenot can even identify talent? The Falcons traded up in the second round of last year’s draft to take Ruke Orhorhoro instead of Braden Fiske, Cooper DeJean, Kool-Aid McKinstry, and Kamari Lassiter.

There are a handful of other examples just like that too. Whether it’s Kyle Pitts instead of Micah Parsons, Pat Surtain, Ja’Marr Chase, or Penei Sewell, or Bijan Robinson instead of Jalen Carter, the Falcons have consistently struggled to draft under Terry Fontenot.

There are lessons to be learned, but the biggest takeaway Arthur Blank should have is that his GM hasn’t even gotten his team to the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl.

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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire