Fansided

Atlanta Falcons: 5 offseason needs

By John Buhler

Dec 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (18) scores on a 64-yard catch in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (18) scores on a 64-yard catch in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

The Atlanta Falcons won the NFC last season and made it to the Super Bowl. Here are five areas the Falcons need to improve in this offseason.

The Atlanta Falcons are coming off one of their best seasons in franchise history. Atlanta was one quarter away from winning its first Lombardi Trophy, but couldn’t sustain a 25-point lead against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.

Fortunately for Dan Quinn and the Falcons, Atlanta looks to be in great shape for another strong year in 2017. While the Falcons don’t have a ton of cap space to work with at a projected $28,796,300, Atlanta looks to be in good shape in being able to retain the free agents it wants in-house, possibly getting a guy or two of note on the open market.

With seven draft picks and some cap space, here are the five biggest areas of need for the Falcons heading into the offseason to get back to the Super Bowl.

5. Tertiary wide receiving options

Atlanta already has one of the best receiving corps in football. One could easily argue that Julio Jones is the best wide receiver in the NFL. No. 2 wideout Mohamed Sanu was an outstanding fit in unrestricted free agency last spring. He might be one of the more underrated second options in the league.

That being said, Atlanta will need to reload a bit when it comes to its tertiary options at receiver. Both Taylor Gabriel and Aldrick Robinson will be hitting free agency. Gabriel became a great player for the Falcons last season. Does he stick with Atlanta or follow former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to the San Francisco 49ers? Either way, Gabriel is about to get paid.

Though it is not a top priority, maybe it would be wise for general manager Thomas Dimitroff to take a complementary speed receiver in the 2017 NFL Draft that could thrive in Atlanta’s West Coast attack, now being run by offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian?

Expect Atlanta to do its best to keep Gabriel in unrestricted free agency. However, it wouldn’t be all that shocking for the Falcons to use a mid-round pick on a wideout to ensure that NFL MVP quarterback Matt Ryan has plenty of weapons to work with in his arsenal.

Home/Atlanta Falcons