Atlanta Falcons free agency 2021: Top 5 targets

The Atlanta Falcons might be eight figures over the projected 2021 NFL salary cap, but look for the Dirty Birds to make some moves in free agency anyway.

This is a new era of Atlanta Falcons football with Arthur Smith as head coach and Terry Fontenot as general manager.

Atlanta went a deplorable 4-12 in 2020. After an abysmal 0-5 start, former head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff were fired. Though the Falcons played well at times under interim head coach Raheem Morris, owner Arthur Blank decided to hire another Arthur and a former top executive from a hated division rival to hopefully fix his disappointing football team.

While the Falcons are roughly $12 million over the 2021 NFL salary cap, we should still expect the 2021 Atlanta roster to have Smith and Fontenot’s footprints all over it. Though Atlanta may not be a big spender in 2021 NFL free agency, the Falcons will make at least a few moves like they tend to do every offseason. Here are five players Atlanta could be targeting in the free agency period.

5 free agency targets for Atlanta Falcons

Despite having a former first-round pick occupying every spot along Atlanta’s starting offensive line from a season ago, this front-five did a terrible job of keeping franchise quarterback Matt Ryan upright. Yes, a lot of it might have to do with former offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter’s antiquated super-vertical passing game, but Atlanta has to get better in the trenches yesterday.

One player who has to be atop everyone’s free agency board is Washington Football Team guard Brandon Scherff. Given that he is a former first-round pick himself out of Iowa, oh, he would fit right in with this collection of former blue-chip talent. Unfortunately, Scherff will likely be too expensive for Atlanta to sign him in his free agency. However, he is worth paying a premium for.

If Atlanta wants to have success offensively this year, the Falcons have to make sure their offensive interior does not resemble a wet paper bag. With borderline hall-of-fame center Alex Mack not expected to return, that forces second-year pro Matt Hennessy to center. Though Chris Lindstrom is solid at guard, adding a player like Scherff could make that trio particularly menacing.

Simply put, when the Falcons are playing their best football, they use a strong running game to open up the play-action pass. Complement that with an opportunistic defense, and Atlanta can win a ton of games. Regular season or postseason, it does not matter. Again, signing Scherff in his free agency is nothing more than a pipe dream at this point. He is a pipe dream for most clubs, too.