The Atlanta Falcons spent a good chunk of their 2026 cap space on reclamation projects and one-year rentals, which is setting Ian Cunningham up for another pivotal offseason in 2027. And since the Falcons will have over $100 million in cap space, there is more wiggle room to be had for the new GM.
And though the Falcons are 2-4 and have dropped two straight games, this new regime is ready to play the long game. They have the money and Cunningham isn't shy. He'll be willing to spend it on the right investments, but figuring out what those are--both internally and externally--is the tough part.
Since they already got extensions done with Drake London, Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Matthew Bergeron, and Gervon Dexter Sr., I highly doubt any more spending will come in season. So that means Atlanta will have ample opportunities to evaluate which 2027 free agents they'd like to keep.
After diving into the guys they left behind yesterday, today we're taking a look at some of what the Falcons' top free agents have been doing as of late, including in the 31-23 Week 6 loss to the Bears.
Checking in on some key 2027 Falcons free agents entering Week 7
Divine Deablo may be on the way out of Atlanta
Divine Deablo's day was cut short against the Bears due to an arm injury, and he'd been dinged up for the better part of the last couple of weeks as well. While he had some nice run stops before his exit, it wasn't his brightest day in coverage--which was supposed to be a strong spot of a former safety.
He's more of a box LB anyways, but Deablo is starting to look expendable in Atlanta--though it isn't by any fault of his own. Rookies Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. are the future of this linebacker room, and their successes have begged the question of whether or not it's actually in their best interest to bring him back.
He's still a quality linebacker who will get his much-earned paycheck, although it's less certain that it will actually come from a front office that didn't sign him to begin with.
The Sydney Brown-Jessie Bates debate is closer than we realize
The Dirty Birds have two safeties set to hit free agency this spring: Sydney Brown and Jessie Bates III, and it's unclear whether or not they're both going to be retained. But Brown is the interesting one, because he plays both safety and nickel corner and has impressed as a run defender this season.
Bates and Brown both tied for the team lead with seven tackles (five solo) against the Bears, and that's telling given the three-time All-Pro played more than twice as many snaps as Brown did. And the best part is that this trade is aging phenomenally and helped the Falcons land two stud LBs.
So this exposes JB3 as someone they may not want to bring back given paying him $20 million a year with him set to turn 30 after the season when they can pass the baton to Watts. And given the Falcons want to get younger and more versatile on the back-end, Sydney Brown deserves to get some run next to Watts.
Jawaan Taylor looks every bit like a one-year rental
At the start of his tenure with the Falcons, Jawaan Taylor looked like he was turning the clock a bit and made the idea of keeping him a bit more intriguing. Through the first five weeks, he stepped up as Kaleb McGary's replacement and Michael Penix Jr.'s blindside protector, as he ranked fifth in the NFL with a 92% pass-block win rate across that span.
However, things hit the fan against the Bears. He surrendered six pressures and two sacks, and on the play where Penix fumbled the game away, he didn't put forth any effort to engage any defender, and especially not Kyler Gordon, who quickly beat him off the blitz to log the strip sack.
Only two offensive linemen in the NFL gave up more pressures than Taylor in Week 6, and his 30.5 pass blocking grade was the worst among all tackles. Yeah, this team needs to draft insurance at both tackle spots in 2027 because he cannot pick up a blitz for his life.
Olamide Zaccheus is playing his way out of Atlanta
Olamide Zaccheus is the WR3 on the Falcons, but he's more like the fifth option in the passing game behind Drake London, Jahan Dotson, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson. So in layman's terms, he almost never gets the football, but even that is too much for how frustrating he actually is.
Despite being targeted a season-high four times, Zaccheus went catch-less against his former team and put up a zero in the stat sheet (on offense) for the second straight game, and had a bad drop that almost certainly would've moved the chains, and had a lapse on a punt return where he failed to call for a fair catch and he set the offense up inside the high.
He's been such a non-factor that his 18.2% drop rate is the highest of his career, and it's about time for Zachariah Branch to take over most of the slot reps so Atlanta doesn't have to bring OZ back in 2027.
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