Atlanta Falcons: How will they fill the hole at strong safety?
While many of us projected that the Atlanta Falcons would cut strong safety William Moore as soon as they got the chance too, many haven’t quite figured out who will be his replacement in 2016.
Whether it be a short-term or long-term replacement, the Falcons have got to act fast before they walk into training camp with nobody to fill the role.
The safety position was already a position of need for the Falcons and it just jumped up to the second or third biggest need heading into free agency and the NFL draft.
More from Blogging Dirty
- Atlanta Falcons are the perfect fit for Leonard Floyd
- 3 Largest Atlanta Falcons 2023 dead cap hits
- Atlanta Falcons trade up for a quarterback in this full mock draft
- Atlanta Falcons: 3 trade packages to land first-overall pick
- 3 Reasons the Atlanta Falcons shouldn’t fear Derek Carr and the Saints
Dan Quinn is a smart guy, we think but general manager Thomas Demitroff isn’t all that smart in the eyes of many. The decision to part ways with Moore and free up a decent amount of spending money might look good on paper, but the person that will fill his role is not clear-cut whatsoever.
There is a rather good chance that the Falcons’ staring strong safety in 2016 will be a rookie. If that is the case, the Falcons’ two safety positions would feature a first-year player and a second-year player which doesn’t sound very appetizing.
As far as free agency goes, there aren’t any strong safeties worth signing to be the starter but you could possibly see the Falcons go after a free safety and convert him into a strong side player. While that isn’t ideal, it is a possibility but let’s be real here folks. Eric Berry isn’t going to sign with the Falcons so just get that out of your system right now. Sure, that would be an incredible signing, but it just isn’t realistic whatsoever.
If there aren’t any players worth signing in free agency, the Falcons will turn to the NFL draft in which there are several young, talented safeties that could step in and compete for a starting job. Those players include Darian Thompson out of Boise State and Jeremy Cash out of Duke. Both players are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively and will both be picked within the first two rounds.
The third option would be to turn the reigns over to Kemal Ishmael who has played a lot of strong safety in the past two seasons. Moore has been hurt more than not which gave Ishmael an opportunity to start. He has shown some good flashes out on the field, but at other times has look awful so that might not be the best way to address this hole.
Your guess is as good as mine at this point in time when it comes to filling the gaping hole at strong safety. Will they sign a veteran in free agency or draft a young stud in the draft? We will have to wait and see how things play out.