FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — First-year head coach Raheem Morris spent the offseason trying to build up the Atlanta Falcons.
“Everything we do right now at this point has got to be encouraging,” he said during June’s minicamp. “You have to have corrective criticism, but you have to be encouraging. I want these guys to go out there and feel confident in their ability to execute whatever we are going to ask them to do.”
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Makes sense. A team that finished 7-10 each of the last three seasons and lost four of its final five games last year probably needed a pat on the back. However, starting July 24 when training camp opens, it’ll be time to start making the hard decisions to trim the 90-man offseason roster to the 53 players allowed during the season.
This is our summer projection for what that final list will look like.
Quarterback (2)
Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr.
In a month of offseason workouts, Cousins was everything the Falcons had hoped for when they handed him the largest total value free-agency contract in NFL history. The 12-year veteran took every significant snap — albeit at OTA speed as he finishes rehabbing the torn Achilles tendon he suffered last season — and drew rave reviews from his young offensive teammates for his leadership. Cousins expects to be able to take full-speed reps when training camp opens and will be the starting quarterback barring another injury.
Penix, the No. 8 pick in April’s draft, spent a lot of minicamp working on an alternate field with many of the team’s young players, while veteran Taylor Heinicke took the second-team quarterback reps. However, the Falcons didn’t draft Penix to make him an emergency quarterback. It will be a huge surprise — not to mention an indictment of the decision to double dip at quarterback — if Penix isn’t the backup heading into the season.
Last season, Atlanta kept three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster to take advantage of the league’s new emergency quarterback rule on game days. The new staff could choose that same route, but it’s more likely Heinicke starts the season on the practice squad.
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Running back (4)
Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Jase McClellan
The only intrigue about the running back depth chart is where Williams fits in after returning from the ACL injury that cost him all of the 2023 season. He will be battling for kick return reps with newcomers like Ray-Ray McCloud and Rondale Moore, but he could also rise as high as No. 3 in the running back pecking order.
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That’s not expected to be a heavy workload. Atlanta’s plan for Robinson, according to Morris, is “get the ball to Bijan as much as you can in as many ideal situations as you possibly can,” but there’s a place for Allgeier in this running game, and it might be bigger than some people expect. Allgeier’s bruising style and ball security endeared him to the previous coaching staff and will likely have the same effect on new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
Wide receiver (6)
Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Rondale Moore, Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge, Casey Washington
The Falcons may keep seven wide receivers, but last year’s Los Angeles Rams started the season with six, so that’s our guiding number. If that is the number, then this is a pretty easy list. London is a lock, while the new staff brought in Mooney, Moore and McCloud via free agency or trade. Hodge is a six-year veteran and an invaluable special teams contributor, and Washington was a sixth-round draft pick who will get every chance to find a spot on the roster. The good news for Washington is there doesn’t appear to be another wide receiver on the roster who is a serious threat for the final spot. (Keep an eye on blazing-fast undrafted rookie Isaiah Wooden, though, just in case.)
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Tight end (4)
Kyle Pitts, Charlie Woerner, John FitzPatrick, Austin Stogner
Pitts and Woerner can feel good about their spots, but there are questions beyond them. FitzPatrick was a sixth-round pick in 2022 by the previous staff, which envisioned the 6-foot-7, 255-pounder as a sixth offensive lineman who could catch a pass every now and then. That’s not a role that has much value in the new offensive system, so FitzPatrick is going to have to flash some athleticism and red zone reliability to stick around. Stogner is a UDFA out of Oklahoma and South Carolina who will have to beat out veteran Ross Dwelley for a spot. Dwelley’s advantage is six years in a San Francisco offense that shares a lot of similarities with what Atlanta will run.
Oooo, @kylepitts__ 👀 pic.twitter.com/t7m0TapA20
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) May 20, 2024
Offensive line (9)
Jake Matthews, Matthew Bergeron, Drew Dalman, Chris Lindstrom, Kaleb McGary, Ryan Neuzil, Storm Norton, Tyler Vrabel, Kyle Hinton
The top six in this rotation are set with the five starters plus reserve interior lineman Neuzil, who signed a one-year deal after the new staff took over.
Norton is a veteran who was Atlanta’s swing tackle last year and has the inside track on that job. If the Falcons keep a fourth tackle on the 53, then Vrabel, son of former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, will have to hold off XFL alumnus Barry Wesley for that spot. Hinton is a veteran interior lineman who can play on either side, but if only nine make it, he’s going to have to prove he’s a step ahead of Jovaughn Gwyn, who has lots of experience at center.
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Defensive line (7)
Grady Jarrett, David Onyemata, Zach Harrison, Ruke Orhorhoro, Brandon Dorlus, Ta’Quon Graham, Kentavius Street
Suddenly, the Falcons have lots of defensive line depth. If this is the seven-man roster, it would mean players like Eddie Goldman, Zion Logue, LaCale London and Tommy Togiai are either on the practice squad or gone altogether. An eighth player could make it here if Atlanta trims from another spot (such as offensive line).
Jarrett, Onyemata and Harrison are the only veterans who are locks to make the roster. Second-round pick Orhorhoro and fourth-rounder Dorlus also can be written in pen. Then it’ll come down to training camp for the final spots.
Graham, a 2021 fifth-round pick, started 14 games in his first two seasons but only two last year after coming back from an ACL injury. Street started five games for the Falcons last season after being acquired in a trade with the Eagles but was lost for the season because of injury. If he returns to full strength, he’ll be hard to keep off the roster.
Goldman is the most intriguing player left off this list. A second-round pick by the Bears in 2015, Goldman hasn’t played since 2021 but has attempted a comeback each of the previous two offseasons in Atlanta only to end those efforts before the season started.
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Outside linebacker (4)
Arnold Ebiketie, Lorenzo Carter, Bralen Trice, Bradlee Anae
The Rams kept five outside linebackers last season, but the Falcons have only five on the roster, and it doesn’t seem likely that 2022 third-round pick DeAngelo Malone will stick around after playing only two defensive snaps last season.
The bigger intrigue is how the playing rotation will shake out. Trice was a third-round pick who has the potential to jump right into the starting lineup, but Atlanta might start with Ebiketie and Carter just because of their experience. Trice will be an early contributor in either scenario.
Anae has been in the NFL since 2020 when he was a fifth-round pick by the Cowboys, but he didn’t play the last two seasons while on the Jets roster. Along with cornerback, outside linebacker is a spot the Falcons could still add a veteran free agent.
Inside linebacker (4)
Kaden Elliss, Troy Andersen, Nate Landman, JD Bertrand
Elliss, Andersen and Landman are not only assured (barring injury) of roster spots, they may all be on the field at the same time for some snaps this season. That’s how impressed Morris has been with the trio of linebackers. Bertrand is a fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame whom Morris has dubbed Captain America, so it’s hard to imagine him not making the cut.
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Cornerback (6)
A.J. Terrell, Clark Phillips III, Mike Hughes, Dee Alford, Kevin King, Antonio Hamilton Sr.
Terrell is the only proven starter on this list, which is why it won’t be a surprise if the Falcons sign a veteran before training camp. When Terrell missed offseason workouts with a tight hamstring, Phillips and Hughes were in the starting lineup, which means they are competing for the starting job opposite Terrell. Phillips, a fourth-round pick in 2023, started the final five games last season and had some expected growing pains. Hughes was a first-round pick by the Vikings in 2018 but has yet to start more than six games in any NFL season.
King and Hamilton are veterans the new staff signed this offseason, and their experience gives them an edge heading into training camp. King has started 42 NFL games, most recently in Green Bay, but hasn’t played the last two seasons. Hamilton has less overall experience (18 career starts), but it’s more recent. He started nine games last season in Arizona.
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Safety (4)
Jessie Bates III, DeMarcco Hellams, Richie Grant, Micah Abernathy
One of the most intriguing training camp competitions will be Hellams and Grant vying to start alongside Bates. Hellams took the starting job away from Grant by the end of last season, but Grant will get a clean slate from the new staff. A second-round pick in 2021, Grant will be playing for his third defensive coordinator in three seasons. If this system is a good fit for him, he might be able to work his way back into the starting lineup.
Specialists (3)
K Younghoe Koo, P Bradley Pinion, LS Liam McCullough
There’s not much intrigue here. The Falcons brought in rookie punter Ryan Sanborn this offseason, but it’s not likely he’ll unseat Pinion, a nine-year veteran who was the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee last season. Koo and McCullough don’t have any competition on the 90-man roster.
(Top photo of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier: Mike Christy / Getty Images)
