The Atlanta Falcons just made a huge splash in free agency with the signing of Kirk Cousins, is it enough to truly make a run this season?
ATLANTA, GA– The 2023 NFL season didn’t end as the Atlanta Falcons had hoped. They finished the season with a 7-10 record, placing 3rd in the NFC South, and watching the playoffs from home. After the season, the organization began making changes. Arthur Smith, the former head coach was fired, bringing in Raheem Morris as his replacement. Desmond Ridder, the former 3rd round pick of the 2022 NFL draft and starting QB was traded to the Arizona Cardinals and replaced by Pro-Bowler, and former Minnesota Vikings QB, Kirk Cousins. With a young roster and a plethora of weapons, where will the Atlanta Falcons rank in the 2024 season and years to come?
With their 7-10 record in 2023, the Falcons were underwhelming. Many preseason predictors had team wins in the double digits, and the betting odds were favored at -131 to make the playoffs. The only team in their division that was predicted to compete with them was the New Orleans Saints.
The Falcons roster was full of young studs, including 1st round pick tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London, running back Bijan Robinson, All-Pro cornerback A.J. Terrell, as well as 2023 signing and All-Pro Jessie Bates III. The expectations around the team, especially the defensive backfield, improvement of 2nd year quarterback Desmond Ridder, who has since been traded to the Arizona Cardinals along with the multitude of weapons prompted the positive predictions. However, the team ranked 18th overall on defense and 26th overall on offense.
The first course of action that the team took to straighten their path was the firing of disgraced Arthur Smith and replacing him with former Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris. During his three seasons with the Rams, the team had two playoff appearances and one Super Bowl win.
Upon the start of the NFL free agency period on March 13th, the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins. The signing filled a gaping hole within the Falcons’ organization, to which HC Raheem Morris commented, “if we had better quarterback play, I’m probably not standing here at this podium.”
Assuming he is correct, the Falcons are now in position to find success in the postseason.
MOVING ON FROM A FAILED ERA: Desmond Ridder Traded to Cardinals, Falcons Add Rondale Moore For Kirk Cousins’ Arsenal
During his career, Kirk Cousins has a 2.5:1 touchdown to interception ratio. He has played 12 seasons, starting five, with five seasons with winning records and four playoff appearances. However, even during the seasons in which the team he plays for does not find success, he has maintained individual success and is often the only thing giving the team hope. During the 2023 NFL season, Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles in Green Bay for the Week 8 Divisional matchup. During those eight games, the Vikings went 4-4. However, he threw for 18 touchdowns, five interceptions, and completed 70% of his passes for 2,331 yards. Just like many of his other seasons, he was the best chance that the team had to find success. After his injury, the team fell off even further, finishing the season with a 7-10 record.
Outside of Kirk Cousins, free agency was a relatively quiet time for the Falcons, mostly acquiring players for depth. The biggest signing other than Cousins was Darnell Mooney who, when in Chicago, was never an extremely impactful player.
The team also lost a few pieces, such as Calais Campbell. However, most losses weren’t of much importance.
Now that the breadth of free agency has turned the corner, the 2024 NFL Draft has come into view. The leftover team needs are strongest at CB and the interior D-Line. Besides A.J. Terrell, there isn’t any CB on their current roster that is reliable enough to cover a number one or two receiver on most teams. Additionally, they are very light at the interior of the D-Line. Grady Jarrett is still a reliable man for the pass rush and run stopping, but he is getting older, and may not be around forever. The current line is also somewhat undersized, with only two players at or above 300 lbs. On the outside of the D-Line there is also a heavy need. At the moment, the only player off the edge that can be expected to make an impact next season on their roster is Arnold Ebiketie. With the available players within the edge position in this year’s NFL draft, many mock drafts have the Falcons drafting an edge player.
In terms of the competition, the division isn’t too much of a threat. The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints both fell below expectations last season and don’t have very high expectations coming into the next. The Saints haven’t lost many players, nor have they added many, with only two notable names on either side. The team cut WR Michael Thomas, and picked up EDGE Chase Young. The Panthers made many small signings, and lost some of their better players, such as ILB Frankie Luvu, but overall they are mostly the same team that went 2-15 last season.
The only real competition to the Falcons in the division next season is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They went above and beyond expectations, but those expectations were very low. They went 9-8, winning the division and heading to the playoffs, where they took out the sputtering Philadelphia Eagles who had lost five of their previous six games, 32-9. Just like the rest of the division, the Buccaneers did not do anything major this offseason, resulting in a very similar team to last year.
If the Atlanta Falcons can fill some of the small holes that are left on their roster and assuming that the new version of the Falcons lives up to the expectations, it is likely that the only real competition the team will face will be from outside of their division. With Raheem Morris and his defensive mind, and Kirk Cousins, with his experience and skill, along with all of the young weapons, the Falcons have a definite shot at becoming a powerhouse team. In the meantime we just have to wait for that time to come.
