Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith have done a great job locking up Atlanta Falcons impact players over the last two seasons. Heading into free agency the biggest question mark will be what the team decides to do with Kaleb McGary.
Outside of McGary, there aren’t any high-impact players who Atlanta is set to lose. This off-season for the first time in three years isn’t about what impact players Atlanta is going to lose but what talent they choose to bring in.
With the second most cap space in the league and a top ten pick Atlanta is in perfect position to make a playoff push. Whether or not they make the playoffs this year will define Arthur Smith’s tenure as a head coach. Something Smith is well aware of and should have the head coach more than willing to move on from three Falcons in particular.
1. Dean Pees
Dean Pees spent two years as Atlanta’s DC and those two years had far too many late collapses from the Atlanta defense. Part of the issue for Pees was the lack of roster depth but the coach far too often would go into a soft zone coverage that made comebacks all too easy.
Whether it is the Saints comeback when Pees employed this strategy or not setting the defense up better and giving up a D.J. Moore touchdown that should have won the game for the Panthers Pees had some rough moments on defense.
Retiring was the best move for a coordinator with a fantastic legacy that simply won’t include his time with Atlanta. Perhaps if the Falcons take a leap this season a measure of credit will be given to the foundation that Pees laid. However, there is no question that Atlanta fans were tired of watching a bad defense get sliced up every week. Pees was unable to generate a pass rush or create consistent stops against a capable offense. It was time for a change and Dean retiring was the perfect move to let a great coach go out the right way.
2. Marcus Mariota
Mariota’s time as the Atlanta Falcons starter lasted far too long with Arthur Smith sticking with the veteran despite consistent mistakes and the inability to throw basic passes. Smith’s decision to stick with Mariota with Desmond Ridder on the bench remains one of the biggest mysteries of the 2022 season.
Putting Ridder in as the starter on the road against New Orleans and Baltimore was a questionable decision with far easier games already behind the Falcons. Atlanta waited far too long to put Ridder in the lineup speaking to the rough season that Mariota had.
Mariota is elite when it comes to buying time with his legs or creating room to scramble. The problem as the season wore on is that opposing defenses decided they simply needed to play the run and dare Mariota to throw. Rarely could Mariota beat the secondary even in man coverage failing to make college level throws at times. Mariota’s regression as a passer was obvious and will have him searching for a backup job this off-season.
3. Any receiver who isn’t Drake London
What was so mind-numbing about Matt Ryan’s final season with the Atlanta Falcons was what the veteran managed to do with so little around him. There was a point in the season where Ryan’s primary receiver was Tajae Sharpe when Russell Gage wasn’t completely healthy.
This season the production slightly improved but only due to Drake London. Bryan Edwards was a bust and Atlanta’s free agency additions failed to make an impact for Mariota or Ridder. If the Falcons are serious about moving forward with Ridder this is a position that must have at least two high-impact additions this off-season.
Olamide Zaccheaus could be brought back if the contract is reasonable and allows Atlanta to use Olamide as a third or fourth option. Atlanta needs to take some of the pressure off both London and Ridder bringing in a veteran and a second option to change a position that has rivaled Atlanta’s pass rushers as the worst group on the roster.