With the Super Bowl behind us, teams are forced to move on from the 2022 season and look towards 2023. In a series of articles, we will recap the past season, and look at how teams are positioned at their skill positions for next September.
Atlanta Falcons
Projected Cap Space: 66.7 Million (per Spotrac)
Upcoming Draft Picks: Round 1 (8th), Round 2 (44th), Round 3 (75th), Round 4 (110th, 113th), Round 5 (155th), Round 6 (182nd), Round 7 (226th, 249th).
The Atlanta Falcons finished the 2022 season with a 7-10 record, which is frankly impressive given the number of question marks surrounding the roster. After finally moving on from the aging Matt Ryan at the 2022 draft, the Falcons made it clear they were a rebuilding squad so managing 7 wins this season, albeit in the worst division in the NFL, is a testament to the ability of this coaching staff to get the best out of their players. They enter the 2023 offseason with the second most cap space available, as well as 9 picks in the draft, which is important as despite having some good pieces, the team as a whole has plenty of holes left to fill.
Coaching:
2022 was head coach Arthur Smith’s 2nd season in charge of the Falcons, and he managed to match the 7-10 record he led the team to in 2021 with Matt Ryan at quarterback. Coming from the Titans as Offensive Coordinator, it’s no surprise that Smith has built the Falcons offense around the run game and continued to improve their red zone success. He’s clearly created a culture along the offensive line of winning on every play, and, despite the lack of depth along this roster, he has to be commended for making the Falcons a tough out week after week.
Offensive Coordinator Dave Ragone joined the Falcons in 2021, coming from the Chicago Bears, where he served as Quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. It’s hard to judge his performance so far, as the offense has been so run heavy and has lacked a true elite quarterback. With Desmond Ridder on the roster, loads of cap space, and an early 1st round pick, this could be the season where Ragone gets his quarterback in place that allows him to open up the offense.
Ryan Nielson was brought in from the division rival New Orleans Saints as the new defensive coordinator, and he’ll have his work cut out for him after the defense ended the season tied for 27th in league in overall rating (per PFF). He comes from a successful Saints defensive system, where he worked as defensive line coach, so he has some pedigree that will buy him some leeway, and the Falcons are seriously lacking in talent on the defensive side, so he should have time to develop the defense as he sees fit. If management finally decides it is time to spend their cap space, Neilson will be petitioning to get some help to try and speed up the development of his unit.
Quarterbacks:
The biggest question mark heading into the offseason for the Falcons is who will be their quarterback in 2023. Atlanta entered the 2022 season with veteran Marcus Mariota as their starter, and 2022 3rd round pick Desmond Ridder as backup. Mariota was predictably disappointing, and was mercifully benched after week 13, giving Falcons management some game looks at their young quarterback. Mariota was released on February 28th, saving the Falcons almost $11 million in cap space, signifying they’re ready for a change at the position.
Ridder has shown flashes of his talent at the NFL level, but clearly still has a long development path ahead of him. He is, however, the only quarterback on the Falcons roster under contract for 2023, so some major decision will have to be made. The have the cap space to go after a veteran free agent (i.e. Derek Carr, Jimmy Garrapolo), or can wait and see how the draft falls and hope one of the top quarterbacks fall to them at 8th.
The Atlanta Falcons are releasing QB Marcus Mariota pic.twitter.com/fB4HSpSAZz
— TWSN (@TWSN___) February 28, 2023
Wide Receiver/Tight End:
2022 8th overall pick Drake London was selected to pair with 2021 4th overall pick Kyle Pitts to create a formidable one two punch at wide receiver and tight end. That plan didn’t come to fruition this year for a myriad of reasons. Quarterback play was probably the number one factor, but play-calling was also questioned as Pitts was consistently left looking for targets when he was healthy as the team focused on their run game.
London, for his part, looked the part of a true #1 receiver in his first year in the NFL. Looking at his overall numbers isn’t flattering, his efficiency with the targets he received shows signs of his immense potential. The depth behind London… well there is no depth behind him. The Falcons are returning 4 receivers from last year’s roster who had no impact on the season. They need to find more talent at the wide receiver position or they’ll be back to handing the ball off each play no matter who steps in at quarterback.
Kyle Pitts hopes to bounce back from a disappointing sophomore season in 2023. While his presence on the field helped the players around him as his talent draws defensive coverages towards him, his overall production this season was hampered by a severe lack of targets and an injury that ended his season early. Look for Ragone to get Pitts more involved in 2023, as his ceiling is way too high to be stuck blocking at the line of scrimmage play after play.
Running Back:
The resurgence of Cordarelle Patterson in the Falcons system is something to behold. After 8 seasons as a dynamic returner/middling receiver, he went to Atlanta and somehow became a high end starting running back. While his numbers weren’t elite this season, he remained a consistent back who is always a threat to score.
One of the the reasons for his statistical drop-off this year was due to the emergence of rookie back Tyler Allgeier, who showed potential during Patterson’s early season injury and eventually carved out a significant role in the offense, to the tune of over 1000 yards rushing this season. The rookie 5th round pick created plenty of buzz in the preseason, and despite getting off to a slow start, took over the lion’s share of touches to end the season. Caleb Huntley also stepped up while Patterson was injured, showing the Falcons they have considerable depth at the position. With every single Falcons running back still under contract going into 2023, you can bet that they will still rely heavily on the run game led by the Patterson/Allegeir duo.
Offensive Line:
The Falcons offensive line have been a key factor in their development of the run game. With left tackle Jake Mathews, center Drew Dalman and guard Chris Lindstrom leading the way and all under contract for 2023, they are set to repeat and build on the success of 2022. Right tackle Kaleb McGary should be a priority to be re-signed as he is scheduled to be a restricted free agent, and really impressed this season. Consistency along the offensive line helps the group grow and letting him walk would be detrimental to the group as a whole. The Falcons have built a strong core in the trenches and should look to build on that base going forward.
Defense:
One major reason the Falcons didn’t win more games in 2022 was their defense. They have been searching for pass rushers for what seems like forever now. 2nd round pick Arnold Ebiketie struggled in his first season, but he also shouldn’t be relied upon to fix the entire pass rushing unit. Grady Jarrett hasn’t performed to the level that he’s getting paid, and it would be no surprise if the Falcons use their 1st round pick to get an impact player on the defensive line if they don’t think the answer at quarterback is still on the board. With a non-existent pass rush, the defensive backfield was predictably hung out to dry game after game. Atlanta has the picks and cap space to turn their defense around, and give DC Nielson some pieces to work with.
Overall, Atlanta probably didn’t do themselves any favours by winning 7 games this season, as realistically they’re not ready to contend with most playoff calibre teams. Management has their work cut out for them this offseason as they try to navigate the quarterback position, along with revamping the defense before they can be seen as a true threat. They’ve started this rebuild on the offensive line. And with offensive skill players, and with a boatload of cap space and a top 10 pick, there is potential of turning this team around quickly.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: Atlanta Falcons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.