5 NFL free agents who will star on their new teams

Dante Fowler Jr. would have played for the Atlanta Falcons had he fallen to them in the 2015 NFL Draft. Fowler went No. 3 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Atlanta selected Vic Beasley Jr. a few picks later. While Beasley did have some success in Atlanta, pass-rushing inconsistencies and a lack of productivity led to him being out of town. Fowler signed a multi-year deal to replace him.

The reason Atlanta would have taken Fowler had he fallen was because his primary recruiter to the University of Florida was Falcons head coach Dan Quinn. Before joining Pete Carroll’s staff with the Seattle Seahawks, Quinn was on Will Muschamp’s staff in Gainesville. Quinn specializes in coaching up the defensive line and getting after the quarterback. In short, Fowler is his guy.

Thus far in his five-year career out of Florida, Fowler’s NFL has been tumultuous. He missed his entire rookie season in 2015 due to a torn ACL suffered in camp. Though he had eight sacks in 2017 with the Jaguars, he was only a tertiary part of that iconic Jacksonville defense. Where Fowler really made his bones was last year with the Los Angeles Rams.

Fowler is coming off easily his most productive season with 11.5 sacks for the Rams. If he can get close to that number for Atlanta this fall, it will go a long way in helping the Falcons stay playoff viable in a deep NFC. Atlanta has the feel of a fringe Wild Card team. If the defense plays up to the level it showed at times late last season, Fowler could be in for his first Pro Bowl campaign.