One of the biggest off-season pickups was made by the Atlanta Falcons. The move of Kirk Cousins from the Minnesota Vikings to the Falcons seems to be just what the doctor ordered so that all of this offensive talent could be unlocked. A good quarterback was the missing piece to this offense for years. The team tried with Desmond Ridder last season, but that didn’t work. Before that, it was Marcus Mariota. Then before that, it was the tail-end of the Matt Ryan era.
Cousins just might be the quarterback that is needed, along with the firing of Arthur Smith, and the insertion of a whole new coaching staff.
The Atlanta Falcons Will be the New Kings of the NFC South
The Big Three
The first and obvious thing is the weapons on the offensive side. The Falcons have been building up their offense with a bunch of young studs who could not unlock their full potential because of the way the offense was being run and not having a solid quarterback. It’s almost like having all of the bullets but no gun to fire them.
Kyle Pitts
Kyle Pitts was drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft with the fourth overall pick. He was the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history. He came out of college considered a generational talent. Things were looking up for him in his rookie season with an aging Matt Ryan. Pitts posted 68 receptions off of 110 targets for 1,026 yards, and one touchdown, which is pretty solid for a rookie tight end. After that, he did have a knee injury the following season that could have possibly carried over to his poor performances the past two seasons but it didn’t help that his quarterback play wasn’t all that great to begin with.
Drake London
The following year, in the 2022 NFL Draft with the eighth overall pick, the Atlanta Falcons drafted another stud to add to their offense. Drake London has shown a lot of flashes since being drafted. The numbers have been fairly solid even though he has dealt with mediocre quarterbacks at best. Since 2022, he has earned 227 targets and caught 141 of those targets for 1,771 yards and six touchdowns. These numbers could make a significant jump with the new addition of Kirk Cousins.
Bijan Robinson
Last offseason, the Atlanta Falcons invested more draft capital on another offensive piece to their attack in Bijan Robinson. Robinson went into the 2023 NFL Draft labeled as a generational talent. This is likely because of the outstanding numbers that he put up at the University of Texas. He was drafted in the first round with the eighth overall pick. In his rookie season under Arthur Smith, he just barely broke 214 carries with just under 1,000 yards on the ground and four touchdowns He also logged 58 receptions for 487 yards and four touchdowns. With Kirk Cousins at quarterback, these stats will most surely rise and this coaching staff will deploy their best player at this position a lot more around the goal line. No shade to Tyler Allgeier, but he should not have gotten the amount of work that he received last season.
The New Coaching Staff
This new coaching staff was plucked away from the Sean McVay coaching tree, and we have seen enough of his prodigies come out and have success. This situation will not be any different. Now Raheem Morris was the defensive coordinator for McVay last season, but he has had success as well with his resume. Zac Robinson has been a long-time disciple under McVay since 2019. He came up through the ranks until becoming the Rams’ quarterbacks coach in 2022. Morris took Robinson with him after the 2023 season to name him the offensive coordinator this year.
Even though all of these changes to the Atlanta Falcons are unknown going into this season, this team will be 10 times better than what it has been in recent years. But, time will tell.
Main Image: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
