NFL Offseason Previews: Atlanta Falcons

March 7, 2023, by Patrick K. Flowers NFL

The NFL offseason is upon us, and teams will begin working to craft their 2023 rosters in the coming months. In this series of offseason previews, we will look at what each team has to work with and their biggest needs. Today we continue with the Atlanta Falcons offseason preview.

As a reminder, here are dates to keep in mind for the 2023 NFL offseason:

March 7: deadline for teams to use the franchise tag
March 13: legal tampering period opens
March 15: NFL free agency begins and the new league year starts
April 21: deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets
April 27-29: NFL draft
May 1: deadline for teams to exercise 5th-year options on 2020 first-round draft picks
July 15: deadline for franchise tag players to sign an extension

2022 Summary

The Falcons have been a mess for a while now. 2022 was no exception. The Marcus Mariota experiment didn’t pan out, and I don’t think the Desmond Ridder one will, either.

Atlanta finished 7-10 and in last place in arguably the worst division in the league. Atlanta’s defense was a bottom-third unit in the league, and the offense wasn’t significantly better. Marcus Mariota is done after one season, and now the Falcons are back to the drawing board.

Key Positional Needs

Here’s where the Falcons need to find help this offseason:

QB
WR
EDGE
CB
G

Key Free Agents

Here’s a look at the Falcons upcoming key free agents:

Matt Dickerson (DE)
Rashaan Evans (LB)
Rashad Fenton (CB)
Michael Ford (CB)
Colby Gossett (G)
Isaiah Oliver (CB)
Damiere Byrd (WR)
Olamide Zaccheaus (WR)

Salary Cap & Draft Capital

Here’s a look at the salary cap room and draft capital that the Falcons have to work with this offseason:

Current draft picks: 8 (1), 44 (2), 75 (3), 110 (4), 113 (4), 161 (5), 226 (7), 247 (7)
Cap space: $66.4M

Offseason Outlook

Atlanta has to figure out the quarterback situation. Their offense has some pieces. They showed flashes at times last season. But unless they genuinely believe in Desmond Ridder, they’ve got to get into the trade-up discussion in the draft or spend some money on a veteran free agent.

Other than that, they need help at *checks notes* on just about everything. They need to overhaul the defense, add on the interior of the offensive line, and find another running back to pair with Tyler Allgeier. See, simple!

Good luck, Atlanta!