The Atlanta Falcons have been strategic with the moves they've made in their first offseason under new leadership. And that's not a pattern I would expect to kick then bucket anytime soon, because Kevin Stefanski and Ian Cunningham know what they're here to do, and that's win football games.
During the league's summer break before training camp starts, the expectation has been that the free agent market will enjoy a renaissance of sorts, as it typically does around this time of year. But there's some slim pickings still available at this point, and the Falcons are better off continuing to play it safe.
I know what you're probably thinking. Playing it safe is boring and it's this lack of urgency to win that has Atlanta in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought. That perspective makes sense, but this isn't Madden. Team-building has layers to it, and if the Falcons wanted any of these guys, they would've signed them months ago.
The Falcons should not make any major signings before training camp
The Dirty Birds have mostly been linked to the wide receiver market, where players like Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill, and Deebo Samuel are among the top available free agents. And the Falcons better not touch any of of these problematic receivers with a 10-foot pole, nor should Cunningham want to.
Not only are these guys all on the wrong side of 30, there are some character concerns that Atlanta should not want to get involved with. Diggs is known to be one of the NFL's biggest divas at the wide receiver position and was dealing with some legal issues earlier this year, but was found not guilty.
And then you have Hill, who's coming off of a gruesome knee injury that's bound to strip him of the dynamic speed that made him a future Hall of Famer. While he does have the connection with Tua Tagovailoa, he's had his own legal issues in the past that makes a 32-year-old Hill not worth the headache.
And Deebo Samuel is that power slot guy who would pretty much play the same role that third-round rookie Zachariah Branch is set to for the Falcons Those creative touches and screen passes are better suited to go to the player who's almost a decade younger and far more explosive with the ball.
Atlanta is better off with Branch, Jahan Dotson, and Olamide Zaccheus playing real roles in the offense, because that's the vision this new regime has wanted to enforce. So unless they were to drag Keenan Allen away from the retirement home, there's no wideout they desperately need to sign.
In the modern NFL, complacency is death, but there's a fine line between being complacent and avoiding a move you know will blow up in your face. So in a wide receiver market that's riddled with landmines, the Falcons are better suited to proceed with caution. They must preserve their locker room culture and avoid any drama that would come with signing a veteran WR before training camp.
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