Atlanta Falcons: Expect a Pro Bowl season from Dante Fowler

The Atlanta Falcons have very little expected of them in 2021 unless you ask those in the front office or in the locker room – they all expect to win now.

While that may be hard for many Atlanta Falcons fans to envision a highly successful season given what has transpired over the last seasons and all the changes that have been made, but there is a lot of talent on this roster as currently constructed.

If the new coaching staff can create a scheme planned around that talent, there is a chance for some success. Not NFC championship level of success but they could make some noise in the division and make things uncomfortable.

The Atlanta Falcons have talented pieces on both sides of the football

One guy that a lot of eyes will be on in 2021 is Atlanta Falcons OLB/DE Dante Fowler Jr; who is the fourth highest-paid player on the roster.

After his Pro Bowl type season in 2019, when he had 11.5 sacks, his signing last offseason brought a lot of cautious excitement to the fan base. After a horrible 2020 first season, the former first-round pick has a lot to prove and if anyone can put him in a position to be successful it is defensive coordinator Dean Pees.

Pees loves to create pressure from all over the field and has done so his entire career. Fowler possesses the athleticism to get to the quarterback from all over the field. The combination of the two could result in Fowler making his first-ever Pro-Bowl.

For Fowler to have a Pro-Bowl season, he needs to end up with a minimum of 12 sacks, a couple of forced fumbles, and 16 or more tackles for loss. All of which would at least tie Fowler’s career-high in each category.

If he is able to achieve these milestones in 2021, the Atlanta Falcons defense will be above average and that will translate into at least 10 wins this season.

There will be a lot of attention paid to Grady Jarrett every single week. When you combine that with the scheme that Pees has been working on over the last four months, there is little reason for Fowler not to make his first Pro Bowl in 2021 and truly earn the contract that he was given by former general manager Thomas Dimitroff.