The Atlanta Falcons had a busy offseason to say the least. After a disappointing 7-10 season in 2023, Atlanta decided to revamp not only their roster but their coaching staff as well for the 2024 season.
There is a new QB1 in town and that is Kirk Cousins. The Falcons signed Cousins as a free agent to a massive four-year deal to become their leader on offense. For the past two seasons since Matt Ryan departed Atlanta, the quarterback play has been towards the bottom of the league. Cousins will definitely improve that mark in 2024.
Atlanta decided to fire their head coach Arthur Smith and hire Raheem Morris to take over the role. Morris was the defensive coordinator for the Rams for the past three seasons and spent some time in Atlanta beforehand from 2015 to 2020.
The Falcons were able to go out and get two new weapons for Kirk Cousins and the offense. They signed wide receiver Darnell Mooney to a three-year deal to take over the WR2. They also traded for speedster wide receiver Rondale Moore to take over WR3. Pairing these two with Drake London accounts for a solid receiving core in Atlanta.
Pair these receivers alongside Kyle Pitts who has yet to breakout in his time in the NFL. This will definitely be his make or break season which could possibly lead to his final season in Atlanta. You have all these names, but this biggest one of all is Bijan Robinson.
Robinson broke into the NFL a season ago and instantly inserted himself as one of the premier running backs in the National Football League. His pure strength and speed is what has propelled him to take the league by storm in just a short time.
The Falcons defense was a bright spot in 2023 after they finished just outside the top ten in total defense at #11. They had an outstanding pass defense, but the rush defense was not as strong. They brought back most of their pieces from last season and will look to improve once again.
The one questionable move the Falcons made this offseason was drafting Michael Penix Jr. Penix was a star quarterback at the University of Washington and after the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a large deal, everyone thought they were done addressing this position. Turns out they were wrong. I'm not entirely sure what Atlanta's plan is for Penix but it will be interesting to see how this pans out.
The Falcons have improved mightily on offense and if their defense can hold it down like they did in 2023, they could be sitting in the driver's seat of the NFC South. The new-look Atlanta Falcons will be an exciting story in 2024.
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