Atlanta Falcons must move on from Dante Fowler Jr.

From the start, the Atlanta Falcons’ choice to sign Dante Fowler Jr. was a questionable one. Fowler was drafted third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2015 draft and failed to make the impact that Jacksonville hoped he would.

While Fowler was a part of the Jaguars’ impressive run to the AFC Championship he wasn’t the contributor Jacksonville expected him to be. A change of scenery was in order for Fowler and he took full advantage tallying 11.5-sacks for the Rams.

Unsurprisingly being paired with Aaron Donald Fowler’s production skyrocketed and the next off-season Atlanta didn’t hesitate to reward Fowler. Signing Fowler to a deal that expected the same type of production he had with the Rams.

Fowler was one of many personnel whiffs the Atlanta Falcons have had in recent seasons, one without question they must move on from

If you’ve watched the Atlanta Falcons over the last two seasons you know how Fowler’s signing worked out.  Over his two seasons with the Falcons Fowler has only managed 7.5-sacks and an overwhelming amount of misses.

If being in the right place to make a tackle or almost sacking the quarterback was a sack Fowler would be near the top of the league in that particular category. So many times during the 2021 season Fowler was in the position to make a play and simply whiffed.

At this point in his career, Fowler is a depth piece for a team with established edge rushers. He isn’t going to help Atlanta’s complete lack of pass rush and needs an opportunity elsewhere.

Signing Fowler was a mistake for Atlanta one they cannot afford to double down on especially with the new front office in place. Finding a pass rush is the priority of the off-season, and Atlanta now knows with certainty Fowler isn’t the answer.