The Atlanta Falcons are looking to rebound from a two-season lull and that may start with snagging a top defensive free agent like Jason Pierre-Paul from the New York Giants.
After two seasons in which the Atlanta Falcons finished near the bottom of the NFC, changes are being made to make sure that sort of failure doesn’t make another appearance in 2015. Mike Smith was fired as head coach, Dan Quinn was brought in and the Falcons appear to be making a leap towards being a more defensive team.
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After all, Quinn was the architect being ‘The Legion of Boom’ in Seattle, so naturally there will be an emphasis put on improving the defensive side of the ball.
While the Falcons could draft a top defensive talent, there is more than one hole to fill and that’s where finding a big free agent to plug up the defensive line will come into play. Specially, the Falcons are still in dire need of an edge rusher and they could look to another former New York Giants lineman to step up.
After seeking Osi Umenyiora to help them out, D. Orlando Ledbetter speculates that the Falcons could eye Jason Pierre-Paul to be their anchor on the defensive line. But as he explains, Pierre-Paul is only a target if the Giants allow him to hit free agency.
"The Giants may use the non-exclusive franchise tage on Pierre-Paul, according to the New York Post. He could receive $14.6 million under that tag and could receive offers from other teams. However, they would have to sacrifice two first-round picks to sign him."
Jason Pierre-Paul is an interesting choice for the Falcons as he’s in his prime but he’s far from being the most reliable star edge rusher the team could hope for. Still, he’s a Pro Bowler and he’s someone that Dan Quinn could use as a leader on his new Atlanta defense.
The Falcons unit won’t be a carbon copy of the Seahawks Legion of Boom, but there will be big pieces that the Falcons can target to help set up a foundation for a defense that can be special moving forward.
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