The Atlanta Falcons have earned mixed grades for their offseason. Some have criticized their lack of big moves, while also bashing them for not having a first-round pick. Others have noticed the quality of players they have added despite the lack of resources.
CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan went with the latter opinion in his offseason grades for each NFL team. He specifically pointed to the strength of the new regime they brought in, loving the hires of Matt Ryan, Ian Cunningham, and Kevin Stefanski en route to a respectable "B-" grade.
A 'B-' is a solid grade, especially when talking about a team that had little cap soace, no first-round pick, and entered the draft with five total picks. That said, Sullivan didn't give them that grade for the players they brought in; it was more about the executives and coaches.
"It's been a transformative offseason for the Falcons from the top down," Sullivan wrote. "They completely revamped their football operations, hiring Matt Ryan as president of football and adding Ian Cunningham as their general manager. On top of that, former Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski is on board, creating a strong masthead for the foreseeable future."
CBS Sports gives Falcons a 'B-' offseason grade for one specific reason
Most Falcons fans share a similar sentiment to Sullivan. Bringing in a franchise legend like Ryan is exciting, while replacing Raheem Morris with a former Coach of the Year -- who, by the way, won the award twice with the Cleveland Browns of all teams-- is a major upgrade.
He said the personnel moves were "not as exciting"; Signing Tua Tagovailoa is only exciting if he wins the QB1 job, they found Tyler Allgeier's heir apparent, and drafted Avieon Terrell. He's right; there was no blockbuster move this offseason. But they also couldn't, nor did they want to do anything rash.
The Falcons are setting themselves up for next offseason when they are projected to have $122 million in cap space, which is the third-most in the NFL. Sacrificing all of that for one or two players in a weak free agent class wouldn't have been smart.
Not to mention, they have to save room to sign Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and potentially Kyle Pitts to new deals. Unfortunately, they continue to be disrespected in the NFC South, earning the lowest grade of the division. The Panthers earned a 'B+', and the Saints and Buccaneers earned a 'B.'
They can prove everyone wrong by going out there and beating up on each of their rivals, as they continue to hope that their near-decade-long playoff drought comes to an end in the 2026 NFL Season.
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