Five things that the Atlanta Falcons must do this offseason to reach the playoffs
The Atlanta Falcons have quite a bit of work to do this offseason if they want to become playoff contenders by the beginning of the 2021 season.
The Falcons are currently just 4-9 on the season with three games remaining and any remaining hopes of the postseason were dashed with their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
As the team prepares for the final run of the 2020 season and looks ahead to moves that must be made to become legitimate contenders again, here’s a look at five things the Atlanta Falcons must do.
5. Make the right Head Coach & GM hires
It all starts with the front-office.
If you want to be successful, you’ve got to have a General Manager and Head Coach in place who are ready to win and make moves to get the franchise in position to win.
The Falcons have a chance this offseason to make two winning hires. But the question is if they’ll do it.
You’ve got to find a GM who knows what moves to make and who has experience winning at the highest level. You’ve got to score on the head coaching hire. From there, the GM and the HC have to work together to make the right moves, but it all starts with getting the right guys in the organization.
4. Draft a game-changer in the first round
There’s one thing that winning franchises do better than anybody else: They draft game-changers in the first-round.
You can’t miss on your first-round picks and expect to be successful. If the Falcons end up with a top-five pick, they can’t make the mistake of missing on a player. They have to be careful in their evaluations and bring in a player who can make an immediate impact.
If the Falcons are going to become playoff contenders by 2021, they need to look to bring in a player that can make a major impact on the defense- such as a linebacker or defensive end- and they’ve got to be a game-changer moving forward.
3. Address major needs and hit on your draft targets
Speaking of hitting on your first-round pick, you’ve also got to hit on your other draft targets.
That means lining yourself up for success in finding prospects during your draft standings and evaluating talent to know who can come in and make immediate impacts.
The first step, though, is addressing the major needs.
We all know that the Falcons need a legitimate running back. We all know that they need help on the offensive line and they need a legitimate pass-rusher. We know that the secondary could use some help. The job of the organization is to win in the draft and those moves are going to be ones that help or hurt them for years to come.
2. Value signings are the name of the game
The Atlanta Falcons don’t have much cap space coming into the 2021 offseason and we all know it.
The Falcons will have an estimated $25 million when it’s time to make some signings and that means they’re going to have to search far and wide to find free agents who can come in and make an impact while not taking much of a hit to the cap.
If you’re going to become competitive again, you’ve got to win in the draft and you’ve got to find those free agents who you can bring in, potentially revive and make an impact with the team right away.
1. Give Matt Ryan the best chance possible to succeed
Unless you’re going to blow the whole thing up and concede the next 3-4 years, you’ve got to build around Matt Ryan.
Ryan has too much money and time left on his contract for the Falcons to move on from. That means the franchise has to find a way to build around him.
You’ve got to identify his weaknesses and put talent around him that accentuates the positives of his game and hides the negatives.
That’s the only way you’re going to win and become competitive in just a year.
Give Ryan the best chance possible to succeed- put together a decent offensive line that can give him time- and you’ll be on the road to potentially becoming competitive again.