Cutting William Moore and Justin Durant helps the Atlanta Falcons

Just one day removed from Super Bowl 50 the Atlanta Falcons have parted ways with veteran strong safety William Moore and outside linebacker Justin Durant and are now in dire need of replacements.

The cutting of Moore doesn’t come as a surprise whatsoever. He was owed a large sum of money over the next two seasons and didn’t seem to fit in Dan Quinn’s style of defense.

Durant on the other hand was a slight surprise, but it gives the Falcons an extra million and some change to work with in free agency.

Both players were starters at their respective positions so the Falcons will have to be aggressive in free agency and in the draft in order to fill those holes.

One player in particular that the Falcons will want to go after to replace Moore and that is Kansas City Chief’s safety Eric Berry but that sounds like a pipe dream rather than something that can actually happen.

As far as the strong safety position goes, there aren’t really any players that are free agents this offseason which leads me to believe that they will address that position in the draft. Boise State safety Darian Thompson will be one of if not the best safety in this years’ draft and Duke’s Jeremy Cash would also be an option.

The way the Falcons address the gaping hole at outside linebacker is yet to be determined. They could sign a player such as Bruce Irvin who everyone and their cousin wants the Falcons to sign or they could look at other options in the draft.

In less than a year after being hired, Quinn has gutted almost the entire defense and that is something that puts a smile on my face. Quinn has a vision and the current makeup of the defense doesn’t fit that vision.

The Falcons’ 2016 defense could feature anywhere from 2-6 new starters and it wouldn’t be surprising whatsoever if that happens. This is a great start to the Falcons’ offseason.

What do you guys think of these moves?