The Atlanta Falcons aren’t pulling any punches as they try to win their first NFC South title since the 2016 NFL season.
After adding veteran edge rusher Matthew Judon and safety Justin Simmons to their defensive depth chart over the past week, the Falcons struck again on Thursday by extending star cornerback A.J. Terrell on a four-year contract.
Now that the dust has settled, has Atlanta done enough on defense to compete with the rest of the NFC’s powerhouses?
Falcons Complete Recent Defensive Spending Spree With A.J. Terrell Extension
The Falcons made Terrell the NFL’s second-highest-paid cornerback after giving him a four-year deal worth $81 million, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
Terrell’s $20.25 million average annual value places him just behind Green Bay Packers CB Jaire Alexander ($21 million). Atlanta’s CB1 will reportedly earn $65.8 million in “effectively full guarantees,” per Schefter.
Terrell, a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, broke out in his second NFL campaign. The Clemson product earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2021 after finishing second among cornerbacks with a 47.5 passer rating allowed as the nearest defender in coverage.
While he’s allowed more explosive plays and committed more penalties over the ensuing two seasons, Terrell’s elite upside remains tantalizing.
Terrell should lock down one side of the field, and the Falcons have been busily supplementing the rest of their defense roster.
First, Atlanta traded a 2025 third-round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for Judon, who posted sacks from 2021 to 2022.
After addressing their front, the Falcons targeted the secondary, giving Simmons a one-year, fully guaranteed deal worth $7.5 million to join Jessie Bates III in their safety tandem. Simmons, the best free agent remaining on the open market, was a second-team All-Pro for the Denver Broncos in four of the last five seasons.
Has Atlanta’s defense actually gotten better this offseason, or is it just treading water?
Have the Falcons Added Enough Pieces on Defense?
Although Judon and Simmons should bolster the Falcons’ depth chart, Atlanta’s defense is by no means an elite unit. While they finished 10th in defensive EPA per play in 2023, they also got incredibly fortunate.
Atlanta only gave up a score in the red zone on just 46% of its opponent’s trips inside the 20, the fourth-best rate in the NFL last season. The Falcons were even better on third downs, where their 33.8% allowed conversion rate ranked third.
For the most part, stopping offenses in the red zone or on third downs isn’t a repeatable or predictive skill for a defense. Atlanta will likely naturally regress in both areas in 2024.
The Falcons’ newest additions come with question marks, too.
Judon should buoy Atlant’s pass rush, but he’s a 32-year-old who missed 13 games with an injury last season. He might not be the answer to all of the Falcons’ problems.
Atlanta ranked dead last in pass-rush win rate (31%) in 2023 and then lost its two best edge defenders, Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree. Third-round rookie Bralen Trice, who was expected to be deployed in Year 1, is out for the year after tearing his ACL.
Judon will help, but the Falcons probably need to see a significant leap from 2022 draft picks Arnold Ebiketie and DeAngelo Malone to field an above-average EDGE group.
Simmons might be less of a guess, but he’s also on the wrong side of 30. While he should produce in a box role while Bates handles deep safety, there’s a reason Simmons was still on the market in late August.
Atlanta is also changing defensive play-callers. Ryan Nielsen earned significant praise for his work with the Falcons’ defense in 2023 and was quickly scooped up by the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason.
New Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris will heavily influence the club’s defense, but DC Jimmy Lake — the former University of Washington head coach who worked with Morris on the Los Angeles Rams’ staff — will call plays.
Lake has five years of experience as an NFL defensive backs coach and has been a college defensive coordinator but has never handled play-calling at the pro level.
Pro Football Network’s staff ranked the Falcons’ defense 26th last week after they’d added Judon and Simmons.
Adding quarterback Kirk Cousins to an offense that already included RB Bijan Robinson, WR Drake London, TE Kyle Pitts, and a top-10 offensive line might be enough for Atlanta to win the NFC South in 2024.
But the Falcons’ defense, even with Judon and Simmons in the fold, isn’t good enough for Atlanta to compete with the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and other NFC elites.