I have seen a variety of these type of posts on various forums and websites, so I thought it was about time we got into the mix. The basic idea of these is to have fun predicting every aspect of the off-season from the use of the the franchise tag all the way through to the draft. There are infinite combinations to this and i expect you will disgaree with me on some of the points. Tell me where you disagree and post your own mock offseason in the comments section.
So before i get started pretending i am Thomas Dimitroff we need to know how much cap space we have. According to ESPN’s John Clayton via Pat Y’s NFC South blog the Falcons have $30.6 million in cap space this year and i will aim to get our team assembled under the cap. For convenience i will average the contract evenly over the years. In practice this doesn’t always happen but would get to complicated for me otherwise. We start with our own free agents.
Resign
- CB Brent Grimes – Via the franchise tag – $10.6 million
- LB Curtis Lofton – Signs for 6 years, $36 million. $6 million a year.
- DE/OLB John Abraham – Signs for 2 years, $6 million. $3 million a year.
- FS Thomas DeCoud – Signs for 3 years, $4.5 million. $1.5 million a year.
- FS James Sanders – Signs for 2 years, $3 million. $1.5 million year.
- CB Kelvin Hayden – Signs 1 year, $1 million.
- C Todd McClure – Signs for 2 year, $2 million.
- RB Jason Snelling – Signs for 1 year, $1 million.
- LB Mike Peterson – Signs for 1 year, $1 million.
Leaves
- WR Harry Douglass
- WR Eric Weems
- DE Kroy Biermann
- QB Chris Redman
Salary Cap Casualties – Cut from current roster
- FB Ovie Mughelli – Save $3 million on the cap
- LT Sam Baker – Save $2 million on the cap
- DT Jonathon Babineaux – Save $4 million against the cap.
So heading into the free agent period the Falcons have $11 million in cap space.
Free Agents
- LT Marcus McNeill (Assuming his release from San Diego) – 2 years $4 million. $2 million a season.
- DT Paul Soliai – Signs for 3 years, $15 million. $5 million a year.
Those signings would leave $4 million to fill out the roster with a few camp bodies and enough to sign our draft picks.
Draft
- 2nd Round (55th overall) – Clemson TE Dwayne Allen – If available will be a great selection and be the heir apparent to Tony Gonzalez.
- 3rd Round (96th overall) – Oklahoma DE/OLB Frank Alexander – A dangerous pass rush specialist that would be very dangerous in a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme.
- 5th Round – LSU G Will Blackwell – Adds another competitor into the interior line battle. Played on a strong physical SEC powerhouse.
- 6th Round – Southern Miss QB Austin Davis – A nice developmental prospect that could become a real nice backup to Ryan. Has plenty of arm strength to fit into Koetter’s vertical passing game.
- 7th Round – Alabama WR Marquis Maze – His injury history will drop him down draft boards but could become a steal and would replace Weems on the roster as a WR and PR.
So after all these changes let’s take a look at what the depth chart would look like.
Depth Chart
QB – Matt Ryan / Austen Davis / John Parker Wilson
RB – Michael Turner / Jacquizz Rodgers / Jason Snelling
FB – Jason Snelling / Mike Cox
WR – Roddy White / Julio Jones / Kerry Meier / Marquis Maze / Kevin Cone
TE – Tony Gonzalez / Dwayne Allen / Michael Palmer
LT – Marcus McNeill / Will Svitek
LG – Justin Blalock / Will Blackwell
C – Todd McClure / Joe Hawley
RG – Mike Johnson / Joe Hawley / Will Blackwell / Garrett Reynolds
RT – Tyson Clabo / Will Svitek / Garrett Reynolds
LE – Ray Edwards / Lawrence Sidbury / Cliff Matthews
DT – Paul Soliai / Peria Jerry
DT – Corey Peters / Vance Walker
RE – John Abraham / Frank Alexander
ROLB – Sean Weatherspoon / Spencer Adkins
MLB – Curtis Lofton / Akeem Dent
LOLB – Stephen Nicholas / Mike Peterson
RCB – Dunta Robinson / Chris Owens / Darrin Walls
LCB – Brent Grimes / Kelvin Hayden / Dominique Franks
FS – Thomas DeCoud / James Sanders
SS – William Moore / James Sanders / Shann Shillinger
KR – Marquis Maze / Jacquizz Rodgers
PR – Dominique Franks / Marquis Maze
K – Matt Bryant
P – Matt Bosher
For those who are interested, here is the 3-4 look for the defensive personnel.
RDE – Corey Peters / Peria Jerry
NT – Paul Soliai / Corey Peters
LDE – Ray Edwards / Vance Walker
ROLB – John Abraham / Frank Alexander / Spencer Adkins
ILB – Curtis Lofton / Sean Weatherspoon / Stephen Nicholas / Akeem Dent / Mike Peterson
LOLB – Lawrence Sidbury / Frank Alexander / Cliff Matthews
I am sure many of you will disagree with aspects of this. Tell us what you think and what you would do differently by sticking your thoughts in the comments box below.