The Atlanta Falcons had a rather unorthodox plan last off-season. Giving Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract seemed to signal him being their quarterback in the coming years before they went and drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick.
While the move hasn’t been outright bad, the results in year one were far from what the Falcons may have been expecting. They missed the postseason altogether, as Cousins had a brutal stretch, forcing Penix to take over starting responsibilities. But, their unique methodology for the Draft continues this season as well, albeit in a much different way.
Atlanta Falcons Have Unorthodox NFL Draft Plan
Last year, the dual quarterback did pay some dividends for Atlanta. Thanks to an outstanding season by Bijan Robinson, the Falcons were able to post the 10th-best offense in the league, per PFSN’s Offense+ metric. With Cousins having a four-week stretch with zero touchdowns and eight interceptions, that is certainly saying something.
However, this season, it appears that Penix is going to be the guy handling starting quarterback duties. But in Robinson, Drake London, and a potentially rejuvenated Kyle Pitts, the Falcons already have ample offensive weapons for the young quarterback.
As a result, their sole focus in the NFL Draft is on the defensive side, where they finished as a bottom-five unit on PFSN’s Defense+ metric. Still, they’re following a similar model from last season when it comes to the Combine, a repeat of their efforts last season.
“The Falcons didn’t travel their entire coaching staff like some organizations choose to. This tracks for this staff as they didn’t do so last year, either. In fact, outside of Morris, they really only traveled one assistant of note in 2024: T.J. Yates, the team’s quarterback’s coach. And we all know what happened thereafter: The Falcons drafted Penix with the No. 8 overall pick.”
However, unlike last season, this year, the team has one crystal clear goal in mind – improving the defense. According to a report on the Falcons website, the team is sending a contingency of defensive assistants and coaches to the NFL Combine.
“This year, the Falcons only traveled a select group of defensive assistants to the Combine. None of the offensive assistants made the trip. What’s more, the team has 45 official interviews scheduled with player prospects throughout the week. According to reports, all 45 of those interviews are with defensive players.”
With the 15th pick in this year’s Draft, Atlanta has a chance to add a game-changing name on the defensive end. However, throughout their four picks in the draft, PFSN’s latest mock draft has them splitting between two offensive and defensive players.
While their primary target is edge rusher Mike Green in the first round, the team is also predicted to land Xavier Restrepo in the second round while going after an interior offensive lineman, Jacob Bayer, at the tail end of the Draft.
Joe DeLeone also took Joshua Farmer from Florida State to boost the defensive line alongside Green.
