Starting the season off with a perfect 5-0 record led the Atlanta Falcons to be perceived as an elite team. Shortly after that they went 2-7 losing 2 of those games to the opposing team’s backup quarterback. The Falcons’ have holes and they were exposed in almost each and every game after the streak ended. It is pretty apparent that the Atlanta Falcons need a multitude of positions to re-done. Starting with the offensive line the Atlanta Falcons need 3 interior lineman which will be a draft and free agency need. Since the Falcons are in need at many skill positions such as wide receiver and linebacker the offensive line needs will be most likely fixed in free agency. The Atlanta Falcons who currently stand and a .500 record at (7-7) showed promise with their recent draft picks. Each pick has made an impact on the team in their rookie season most notably defensive end Vic Beasley and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Starting with free agency yours truly will predict the Falcons’ moves toward their future improvement. 

FREE AGENCY

The Atlanta Falcons have 16 players that will come off the books in 2016 and they will not sign a lot of them as they are getting older. This Falcons’ team is clearly in the business of getting younger and faster which will play a big part in who they go after. Releasing veterans William Moore, Tyson Jackson, Roddy White, Andy Levitre, and Devin Hester will significantly help the Falcons’ get extra cap money to splurge on areas of need.

Data from Spotrac.com

Chris Chester

G 32 ATL

$2,800,000

UFA
Adrian Clayborn DE 27 ATL

$2,062,500

UFA
Kroy Biermann DE 30 ATL $1,925,000 UFA
Gino Gradkowski C 27 ATL

$1,542,000

UFA
Jake Long LT 30 ATL $1,275,000 UFA
Bryce Harris RT 26 ATL $660,000 UFA
Paul Worrilow MLB 25 ATL

$585,668

RFA
Ryan Schraeder RT 27 ATL

$585,668

RFA
Nate Stupar MLB 27 ATL

$585,668

RFA
Tony Moeaki TE 28 ATL

$447,352

UFA
Ricardo Allen FS 24 ATL

$435,000

ERFA
Phillip Wheeler OLB 31 ATL $378,529 UFA
Charles Godfrey S 30 ATL

$344,117

UFA
Shayne Graham K 38 ATL

$206,470

UFA
Ben Garland OG 27 ATL $90,000 ERFA


The Falcons will aggressively try to keep RT Ryan Schraeder who will be a highly sought after player after his breakout season in 2015. DE Adrian Clayborn will be re-signed as he has made a significant impact towards the team’s success. Paul Worrilow, Nate Stupar, Phillip Wheeler, and Ricardo Allen will all re-signed to relatively cheap contracts to preserve the core of young success. The Falcons could also bring back Jake Long and Bryce Harris to cheap contracts if they felt the need to. After the Falcons have addressed re-signing their own players they will heavily scout for UFA offensive lineman. Kelechi Osmele is an interesting prospect that the Falcons should have drafted when they had the chance during the 2012 NFL Draft. The Falcons’ now have a chance to right their wrongs with signing him for next season. Kelechi Osmele will be an instant upgrade over Andy Levitre who has vastly disappointed this season after being traded for during preseason.

Houston Texans center Ben Jones is also an intriguing prospect. Signing him will immediately boost the center position as current Falcons center Mike Person has no idea what he is doing. Signing Ben Jones to a 2-3 year contract will be step in the right direction. Although unlikely, the Atlanta Falcons going after Bruce Irvin who most recently played under Dan Quinn would help the Falcons LB corps, which currently looks horrendous. There were many articles dating back to the beginning of the season that stated that Bruce Irvin would like to come home to Atlanta and play under Quinn once again. The Atlanta Falcons will make that happen and possibly release Brooks Reed who currently plays that same position at Strong side Linebacker. Signing Bruce Irvin will give Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn another toy to play with in this improving Falcons’ team.  The Falcons could also go after Wide Receiver Travis Benjamin, who already knows the scheme would be an instant upgrade at WR for this Falcons’ team.

Wrapping up the Falcons 2016 free agent class will be Defensive End Vinny Curry. Curry has a lot of talent but he rarely gets the playing time to showcase it on his current team the Philadelphia Eagles. With Curry signing with the Atlanta Falcons that would give Quinn a core of Beasley, Clayborn, Goodman, and Curry which is a great starting point for a rebuilding team. With the free agency period now the completed the Falcons will place their attention upon the 2016 NFL Draft. Based on their current record the Falcons will have the 19th overall pick in the draft.

2016 NFL Draft

1st Round 19th overall selection: LB Myles Jack, UCLA

With the addition of Myles Jack the Atlanta Falcons will now have a dynamic linebacker who will boost the linebacker corps from day 1. Jack is a very physical player that is adept at finishing. Starting Jack over Worrilow in 2016 will decrease the falcon’s chances of having missed tackles since Jack is an overall better MLB than Worrilow. Jack can also cover TE’s with impressive technique which will help the Falcons in the NFC south versus the likes of a Greg Olsen

2nd Round 50th overall selection: DE Noah Spence, Eastern Kentucky

Spence’s versatility is intriguing to the Atlanta Falcons. Spence is a fluid, balanced athlete with an impressive ability to avoid blocks. Spence can play either Right End or Left End in a 4-3 and can also play from an upright position. Adding Noah Spence to the core of Beasley, Clayborn, Goodman, and Curry would add that necessary explosion off the line of scrimmage.

3rd Round 82nd overall selection: WR Leonte Carroo, Rutgers

Famed Falcons receiver Roddy White is seemingly on his last legs and the Falcons’ need a new receiver. Leonte Carroo is an impressive receiver who has 39 receptions for 809 yards and 10 tds this season. Carroo can be a potential weapon in Kyle Shanahan’s west coast offense. Pairing Carroo with Julio will be the Falcons dream come true.

4th Round 114th overall selection: C Mike Matthews, Texas A&M

Extending the Matthews clan along the offensive line should be a must for the Atlanta Falcons. Replacing Mike Person should be an easy job to do for Mike Matthews. Mike is a very good run blocker and is efficient in pass protection.

7th Round 210th overall selection: DB Doug Middleton, Appalachian State

7th round flyer on a hard hitting safety that has been in school for 5 years now. Special teams just got better with this selection.

The higher ups within the Atlanta Falcons organization knew that this wasn’t going to be a quick fix. With the 2016 NFL draft completed the Atlanta Falcons have significantly gotten better on all sides of the ball. Dan Quinn will continue to preach his attacking 4-3 scheme and will have more success due to adding more pass rushing talent. Kyle Shanahan will now have an O-Line with the talent to protect Matt Ryan and you will see a completely oiled well-run machine in 2016. 

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