The Atlanta Falcons Offseason
The To-Do List
2022 Dream Draft Pick: Travon Walker
The Atlanta Falcons don't have a quarterback on the roster that will make Atlanta fans rush to by seats after jettisoning Matt Ryan in the hopes of trading for Deshaun Watson and while I think they'll grab the home town kid in Malik Willis at the 8th overall pick, I wouldn't be shocked in the least if the Falcons took edge rusher Travon Walker over their quarterback need. Walker is a menacing edge rusher fresh off of a College Football Championship lead by one of the best defenses in college football history and bringing in a Georgia Bulldog with his level of talent could allow the Falcons to be forgiven by fans until 2023. Walker is a game-wrecker on the edge and the Falcons for too long have lacked a defensive star on the team and getting one could be a huge boost for the organization.
Trade Calvin Ridley
Calvin Ridley has made it clear to the Atlanta Falcons that he wants out and luckily for him he's unsigned to a big contract, he's young, he's extremely talented as a route-runner, and he's great #1 receiver and teams that don't have a great receiver on their roster will certainly be in the market for him. Ridley is easily worth a Day 2 pick in this years draft and potentially more because the wide receiver risk in the NFL draft can be risky as many are studs and duds with very little in between and Ridley is a %100 bona-fide stud in the NFL. If he got paired with a quarterback that needs a versatile receiver that can make plays all over the field, like New England, I am sure that a team would give up pick to bring in a receiver Ridley's caliber. The Falcons aren't team that's going anywhere anytime soon and they are on the downward trend as an organization and I can certainly see why he he needed a break from his team as they slowly descend into a total rebuild. The Atlanta Falcons need to simply hit the self-destruct button and work to totally rebuild the roster.
Draft another receiver: three that could replace Ridley
If the Falcons trade Calvin Ridley they certainly have plenty of options to replace him with the #8 overall pick in the NFL draft. This draft has plenty of very good receivers that could replace Ridley and potentially have more of an impact on the roster and their are at least three receiver in the draft that I fell could have major impact on the roster.
Any of the three receivers could takeover for Calvin Ridley if they decide to trade him and be fine if not potentially better. These receivers are getting slept on in this draft, The top three receivers in this draft are very capable of bringing a tremendous impact to this team. Although they'll probably be looking at a quarterback in the draft, receiver should be too far down the list if Ridley is let go.
- Drake London: Drake London is a phenomenal receiving talent and believe that after the combine when competes and showcases his elite skillset as an outside receiver, he'll rocket up draft boards and give Falcons some easiness if they trade away Ridley. London is a former basketball player who possesses elite athleticism, excellent hands, and a great wide receiver build and he could certainly do tremendous damage in the NFL when paired with Kyle Pitts.
- Treylon Burks: Treylon Burks is the run after catch receiver in the draft and in my opinion has one of the highest floors in the draft with his freakish athleticism and exceptional hands with his only downside being his route-running that needs some coaching and practice in order to be much more effective player but his ceiling as an NFL receiver is through the roof and with a good receivers coach and an offensive coordinator, he could be special player early in his career.
- Jahan Dotson: Jahan Dotson is the best deep threat in the NFL draft and one of the most technically sound receivers in the draft when it comes running routes and getting open in coverage. Dotson's game is somewhat close to Calvin Ridley's however I believe Dotson has more upside than Ridley did coming out of college. Dotson's game would go exceptionally well with Kyle Pitts.
Any of the three receivers could takeover for Calvin Ridley if they decide to trade him and be fine if not potentially better. These receivers are getting slept on in this draft, The top three receivers in this draft are very capable of bringing a tremendous impact to this team. Although they'll probably be looking at a quarterback in the draft, receiver should be too far down the list if Ridley is let go.
cut Grady Jarrett
One guy on the roster that make a huge difference in giving this team some cap space would be defensive tackle Grady Jarrett whose $23,000,000 cap hit is killing them currently and cutting or trading him will likely be their only option in free agency. Jarrett has been the anchor for a Falcon defense that found themselves in the Super Bowl one year but years later he's declined in play, his team around him has declined significantly and him playing elsewhere would certainly help this franchise push forward into the right direction. I don't think he's tradeable despite him being a 2x pro bowler and one of the better defensive lineman in football because his contract is so massive for his play that it completely takes him out of the market. Releasing saves this team around $16,000,000 in cap and puts them well under the it and could allow them to add pieces to this team in effort to improve it. Jarrett isn't a scrub by no means and his loss will hurt the Falcons defense tremendously, probably for the better as they will eventually be forced to rebuild the team but his presence on the books hurts this team far more than it helps.