8 players who robbed the Atlanta Falcons blind in 2023

2. Taylor Heinicke

It is easy to root for Taylor and his homecoming to Atlanta perfectly gave him the chance to be the hero. Unfortunately for Taylor, Arthur Smith's system and the lack of receiver depth clearly hurt the quarterback. He is a gunslinger who is going to take risks down the field and this just didn't work for a Falcons team with poor receiver depth and a bad offensive system in place.

Ridder is all the risk without any of the reward while Heinicke was occasional reward with the same amount of risk. Taylor's arm talent isn't as good either leaving the Falcons in a no-win situation. Both quarterbacks turned the ball over at a high rate and failed to give the offense consistent scoring chances.

Taylor and Desmond both had a handful of good moments but they are far outweighed by the missed throws and turnovers. Heinicke is the better backup option but his contract is far more expensive and easy to move on from. Heinicke should be an expected cut to save cap space and allow Atlanta to turn the page at the position. Heinicke should have no problem finding another backup role but it simply can't be with the Falcons.