Kirk Cousins and 4 players who did not live up to Falcons' expectations in 2024

Carolina Panthers v Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers v Atlanta Falcons | Todd Kirkland/GettyImages
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4. Matthew Judon

At the time of the move, it seemed a great decision for Terry Fontenot and a desperate Atlanta front office. The Falcons badly needed pass rush help and Judon had been great when healthy. All of the evidence pointed to Judon being a great pass rusher if he could stay on the field. This wasn't the case with his effort being questioned and the lack of production quickly becoming glaring.

The deeper the Falcons went into the season the worse things seemed to get for Judon. Yes, there was a production surge at the end of the season but a lot of this was due to clean up work. Very little of the pass rusher the Falcons had watched in New England showed up in Atlanta.

Whether it was age, injuries, or simply a lack of effort is up for debate. What cannot be argued is that this Atlanta team needed Judon to be an above average pass rusher, and the veteran was far from it. The Falcons wasted a draft pick when they could have simply spent limited money in free agency and gotten close to the same production. A complete failure of a trade that appeared in Atlanta's favor early on.

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