After an underwhelming Raheem Morris tenure, the Atlanta Falcons have turned to Kevin Stefanski as the next head coach. The two-time Coach of the Year does bring a losing record to the team, but he was dealing with a bit of dysfunction with the Cleveland Browns.
Stefanski is a good head coach, and it's not going to be a shock if the Falcons end up competing for and potentially winning the NFC South this year. Sure, the quarterback position is a bit of a question mark, but in my view, Stefanski would not have taken this job without some level of guarantee that the position would be stable.
Whether it's Michael Penix Jr, Kirk Cousins, or someone else, the Falcons should field a competent quarterback situation in 2026, but beyond that, the team has some work to do on the defensive side of the ball. The Falcons have a ton of defensive free agents, but they could fill a huge need along the defensive line with this underrated player.
John Franklin-Myers could not make more sense for the Atlanta Falcons
John Franklin-Myers just finished his second year with the Denver Broncos after coming over in a trade with the New York Jets in the 2024 NFL Offseason. In his two years with Denver, Franklin-Myers played in 33 of 34 games and had 14.5 sacks, 65 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 33 quarterback hits.
Franklin-Myers isn't an elite game-changer or anything, but he plays with an incredibly high floor. In each of the last five regular seasons, Franklin-Myers has played in either 16 or 17 games and has finished with no fewer than 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, and 14 quarterback hits.
He actually had a career-high 7.5 sacks this year and also added six tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits. The Falcons also have an obvious connection with Franklin-Myers, as defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich held the same role with the Jets from 2021-2024, so he overlapped with JFM for three years when both were in New York.
This coaching connection alone is plenty enough reason for the Falcons to make the move. He's not going to cost a ton of money but is going to bring some massive upside as a pass-rusher and is also solid against the run.
With the Broncos having paid just about everyone else along the defensive line, the odd-man out seems to be Franklin-Myers. Atlanta has to figure out some stability along the defensive line. Ulbrich is a good coordinator, but at some point, the team needs to bring in more reliable players.
This is who Atlanta would get in Franklin-Myers. The fit makes all the sense in the world for both parties.