There is nothing harder for a professional sports team to do than to officially give up on a highly-touted prospect who failed to live up to the hype. Draft busts come a dime a dozen nowadays, especially in the NFL, but teams delude themselves into thinking a youngster's potential is untapped.
It's the age-old-conversation about age. Oh, a player is only X years old and has ample time to turn it around, so we should give him another chance to do so. Even when all evidence points to the contrary, if you were a high-enough draft pick, you'll always be able to find work--even if you busted.
Most of the time, if a player doesn't get it together in their first two or three seasons, they probably never will. And this is a lesson the Atlanta Falcons need to learn. Training camp has yet to kick off, but the Falcons need to learn a lesson sooner rather than later about one of their biggest draft busts.
It's time for the Atlanta Falcons to pull the plug on DeAngelo Malone
Falcons fans had high hopes for DeAngelo Malone. He was used with the 2022 third-round pick the team got from the Indianapolis Colts in the Matt Ryan trade, and the expectations of being traded for one of the greatest players in franchise history have followed him throughout his career thus far.
Malone was considered one of the better edge prospects in the 2022 Draft, but has been unable to put it all together in Atlanta. In 58 career games, he has yet to even make a start, and he has just three sacks and 60 tackles--and after missing most of last year due to an injury, he's on the roster bubble.
The 27-year-old re-signed with the Dirty Birds on a one-year contract earlier this offseason, and this is going to be his final shot to prove to this new regime that he could be a part of the team's future. But there isn't much reason to believe he can be much more than a depth contributor at this point.
The Falcons have James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker as the face of their revamped defensive line, and improved depth at the position will push Malone into a sole special teams role. But the fact of the matter is that it's time for them to give up on him once roster cuts come at the end of training camp.
This new regime didn't draft the Western Kentucky product. They really don't owe him anything. And the Falcons have younger, more intriguing pass-rushers like Harold Perkins Jr. and Cameron Thomas that could fill the role he's been tasked with playing.
The Atlanta Falcons have failed to unlock DeAngelo Malone time and time again, and that's never going to change. So if he struggles in training camp, Kevin Stefanski and Ian Cunningham would have the perfect excuse to pull the plug entirely.
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