Ranking Falcons' position groups by concern level: Can receivers rise to occasion? (2024)

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — By the end of the month, the Atlanta Falcons will have started their first training camp under head coach Raheem Morris.

The NFC South favorites will have a lot of work to do in that camp, narrowing a 90-man roster to 53 players and installing a new offense and defense. That will provide some important details about exactly what this team can be. Until then, there are broad conclusions to be drawn about what kind of shape the Falcons are in heading into the 2024 season, starting with how their position groups stack up.

Here is a ranking of the eight position groups, starting with the least concerning and ending with the most concerning.

8. Quarterback

The Falcons’ chief reasoning for drafting Michael Penix Jr. in the top 10 even after adding Kirk Cousins through free agency was that they wanted to fix their quarterback position, if not for good, at least for a good long while.

“If you had told me in January when I was wondering who was going to be our quarterback … that we were going to have Kirk Cousins for right now and Michael Penix for the future, I would have told you it was a pipe dream,” general manager Terry Fontenot said. “It’s the most important position in pro sports, and to feel this good about it right now, we couldn’t be more excited.”

Whether the strategy is sound for the long term, that immediate goal at least appears to have been accomplished. The Falcons haven’t said exactly how they see their eventual quarterback succession playing out, but they have to be hoping for at least two years out of Cousins considering he’s guaranteed $90 million over that span.

Atlanta’s preference would be that Penix doesn’t play at all this season once the regular season begins. Cousins’ recovery from last year’s Achilles tendon tear is on track, and he was having one of the best seasons of his career before the injury. He was third in the NFL in EPA per attempt (.17) and tied for the league lead with 18 passing touchdowns at the time of his injury in Week 8.

Cousins has had an approximate value (as calculated by Pro Football Reference) of at least 12 in each of his last eight full seasons. Matt Ryan’s 2020 season was the last time the Falcons had quarterback play that good. With Cousins starting, Penix preparing and Taylor Heinicke available for emergencies, Atlanta’s quarterback room is in good shape.

7. Offensive line

Only four teams commit more money to the offensive line than the Falcons ($66.9 million), according to Spotrac, and that’s with second-year left guard Matthew Bergeron in the starting lineup at only a $2 million salary-cap hit.

Considering that investment, the offensive line should be set, and it is. Everyone up front — specifically Bergeron, center Drew Dalman and right tackle Kaleb McGary — needs to improve their pass blocking, but most teams would trade front fives with the Falcons.

6. Running back

New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson first saw Bijan Robinson in person on Oct. 22, 2022. Robinson, an assistant coach with the Rams, went to watch Robinson’s Texas Longhorns play his alma mater, Oklahoma State, on a Los Angeles bye week. The Cowboys won, but Bijan Robinson had 24 carries for 140 yards and a 41-yard touchdown catch.

“It seemed like every time he touched the ball something good was going to happen,” Zac Robinson said. “I was like, ‘This guy is unbelievable.’ There’s nothing he can’t do. That’s what gets you excited.”

Now Zac is in charge of making sure Bijan gets enough work (but not too much) in the Falcons’ 2024 backfield.

“He can do so many things that you can get overwhelmed sometimes as a play caller or play designer,” Morris said.

Zac Robinson also has to make sure third-year back Tyler Allgeier gets enough touches. Allgeier set the franchise rookie rushing record two seasons ago (1,035 yards). Veteran Avery Williams, who is returning from an ACL injury, and rookie Jase McClellan are likely to round out the rotation although in very limited roles.

5. Defensive line

It’s probably helpful to think about the defensive line in two groups — the old guys and the new guys — although this method requires an apology to second-year pro Zach Harrison, who goes into the old guys column out of necessity.

Harrison and veterans Grady Jarrett (10th year) and David Onyemata (ninth year) are expected to start. That gives the Falcons a firm foundation on defense. In the seven full games Jarrett and Onyemata played together in 2023 before Jarrett’s ACL injury, the Falcons ranked ninth in the league in points allowed (19 per game). After Jarrett’s injury, Atlanta ranked 24th (24 points per game). Harrison will transition to an interior line spot for the first time in his career and has bulked up to more than 280 pounds to prepare for the change.

The new guys on the defensive front are this year’s draft picks — Ruke Orhorhoro, Brandon Dorlus and Zion Logue. (Almost half of the Falcons’ draft picks were defensive linemen.) Orhorhoro and Dorlus are expected to be regulars in the rotation, but for now their job is to provide some relief to and learn from the old guys.

“I think we have some big powerful guys, guys with good length and good size who are going to be matchup problems,” defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said. “Now, we’re not there yet. We have to continue to work, but I’m really excited about that room.”

The defensive line also contains more wild-card players than any other unit. If Atlanta can get contributions from Ta’Quon Graham, Eddie Goldman and/or Kentavius Street, they’ll serve as a bridge between the starters and rookies.

4. Linebacker

If this was a ranking of only inside linebackers, this unit would be higher, but the problem for the Falcons is that outside linebackers have a lot more value, and they don’t have one who is a difference-maker (or at least one who has proved it yet).

That makes this a good time to circle back to something safety Jessie Bates III said in May: “(Fontenot) and them, I don’t think they are done with the offseason. There is still a lot of observing going on. I’m sure they will have a plan. I feel comfortable with the guys we have. Whether we go get another guy or we don’t, whoever is on that edge better go get the quarterback.”

If they don’t get a new edge rusher (and the remaining pickings are thin at outside linebacker), it’s going to come down to Arnold Ebiketie, Lorenzo Carter and Bralen Trice. Ebiketie and Carter have averaged 3.8 sacks per season in their careers and Trice is a third-round rookie.

The story at inside linebacker is more comforting considering the Falcons have three players they consider starter quality — Kaden Elliss, Troy Andersen and Nate Landman — for their two positions. Elliss and Andersen are both pass-rushing threats from the interior, and Atlanta will have to lean on that if it doesn’t add more at the edge rushing position.

3. Tight end

No one can argue against Kyle Pitts’ potential, and his return from a 2022 ACL injury to full health this season is expected to increase his production, but there’s not enough track record on the field to place Pitts’ position any higher in these rankings. The Falcons bolstered the position by adding Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley in free agency. Both came from San Francisco, where they combined for 16 catches in the last three seasons.

2. Secondary

Despite Bates’ suggestion that the Falcons still might add to their edge rusher position (see above), they seem more likely to add someone to Bates’ room. Not at safety — where Bates, Richie Grant, DeMarcco Hellams and Micah Abernathy provide enough depth — but at cornerback.

.@jlbiii3 lockdown defense loading ⏳https://t.co/4yVnQQsWkZ pic.twitter.com/S6VCLyS6Rr

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) July 1, 2024

A.J. Terrell, who enters his fifth year in Atlanta this season, is the only proven player at cornerback, having started 61 games since being drafted in the first round in 2020. After that, it’s Clark Phillips III and Mike Hughes battling for the second starting job.

Phillips, the Falcons’ fourth-round pick in 2023, started the final five games at outside cornerback last season, but it’s likely they would rather move him inside, where he could platoon with Dee Alford at nickel and not be as limited by his 5-foot-9 height. Hughes, a first-round pick by the Vikings in 2018, has never started more than six games in an NFL season.

Adding a veteran cornerback (Xavien Howard, Adoree’ Jackson and Stephon Gilmore are among those still available) would give Atlanta another starting option opposite Terrell and more depth in the secondary, generally a priority for Morris.

1. Wide receiver

The Falcons are making bets up and down their wide receiver depth chart, specifically that Drake London can be a No. 1 wide receiver, Darnell Mooney can be a No. 2 and Rondale Moore can be a No. 3.

London, the team’s No. 8 pick in 2022, has shown glimpses of being up to the job but hasn’t had enough quality quarterback play to prove it. He hasn’t topped 1,000 yards in either of his two professional seasons and has had only three 100-yard games in his career. Mooney, too, has shown at least one burst of his potential, leading the Bears in receiving in 2021 with 81 catches for 1,055 yards. However, he’s had only 907 combined yards in the two seasons since. Moore, acquired via trade in exchange for Desmond Ridder, hasn’t topped 54 catches or 435 receiving yards in his career, and his yardage total has dipped each year in the league.

For an offense that is going to lean so much on its passing game and a team that’s going to lean so much on its offense, that’s a big bet. Beyond the top three, Atlanta will be filling its 53-man roster with some combination of KhaDarel Hodge, Ray-Ray McCloud III, Casey Washington, Austin Mack, Josh Ali, Daylen Baldwin, Chris Blair, Dylan Drummond, OJ Hiliare and Isaiah Wooden.

(Top photo of Drake London: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA Today)

Josh Kendall , a Georgia native, has been following the Falcons since Jeff Van Note was the richly bearded face of the franchise. For 20 years before joining The Athletic NFL staff, he covered football in the SEC. He also covers golf for The Athletic. Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshTheAthletic