Atlanta Falcons: One move that must be made to become contenders in 2021

One move the Atlanta Falcons must make to become contenders in 2021

The Atlanta Falcons have a ton of decisions to make this offseason that will affect the roster for years down the road.

While the Falcons finished the 2020 season with just at 4-12 overall record, there’s no doubt that this team still has some promising pieces and an opportunity to be better next season. That is, if the proper changes are made.

The Atlanta Falcons already made a couple of major hires by bringing in Arthur Smith as the new head coach and Terry Fontenot as the new general manager. With those two guys in leadership, there is a different sense of confidence and a breath of fresh air taking hold over the franchise.

The only question: Can they make the moves necessary to get the team back to a truly competitive level?

If the Atlanta Falcons are going to do that, the one area that has to be addressed this offseason is edge-rusher

Bleacher Report noted in December following the end of the regular season that the Falcons were much better than what their record told and fixated the team as one of just five organizations that could make a move to become truly competitive this offseason.

The Falcons finished the regular season with the No. 19 overall pass-rush in the league. Outside of Grady Jarrett, there has been very little to like about the Falcons defensive line, especially at the defensive end spot.

If Atlanta could find a true game-changing pass-rusher this offseason, you could be talking about a new-look defense this coming fall.

We all look at cornerback as another position of need, and it absolutely is. However, you’ll notice that the best defenses rely on their front-seven to set the tone and make things easier on their secondary. The Falcons need as much athleticism in their defensive backfield as they can find, but the answer to making this defense better is to find an edge-rusher who can take some of the pressure off the secondary and help create havoc in the backfield.

When you have that playmaker, explosive plays are harder to come by. Quarterbacks aren’t looking down the field for as long and they’re not as comfortable. It changes the entire dynamic of the offense and how it has to operate.

We’re not here to say that the Atlanta Falcons will win a Super Bowl with a big-time edge-rusher on their roster, but there’s no doubt that this team is better than what its past record would indicate and that they have the ability to improve greatly. It all begins up-front on that defense.