Updating the Falcons offensive roster and depth chart after the first wave of free agency

Atlanta’s offense has been drastically overhauled in just a couple of days.

The first flurry of free agent signings are done with, and for the Atlanta Falcons, there has been a pretty striking theme. The team has invested heavily on just one side of the ball to kick things off in free agency, sinking big money and even making a trade to bolster the offense.

That makes a lot of sense when you consider the sorry state of the offense in 2023, particularly galling because the team had A) an offensive-minded head coach, B) a pretty good offensive line, and C) three top ten draft picks and playmakers at running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Fixing that and giving new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson something to work with was apparently priority one in Atlanta, and it’s difficult to blame the team for the path they’ve taken to get to this point.

With most of the team’s cap space spent at the moment—they’ll restructure or cut players to get more in the near future—let’s take a look at the roster on offense and the potential depth chart there while we wait for any defensive additions.

There’s little point to updating the defensive side of the ball at the moment; we’ll save that for when the Falcons actually start adding players on defense.

Quarterback

Starter: Kirk Cousins

Backup: Taylor Heinicke

Cousins is obviously locked in as the starter after signing a big free agent deal, and he’ll remain atop the depth chart for at least the next two years if all goes well. An accurate, proven pocket passer with plenty of weapons to work with, Cousins is a player the Falcons hope can wreak some havoc and wash away the bad taste of two poor years of quarterbacking.

The Falcons swapped Desmond Ridder to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, banishing a player Arthur Smith and the front office had invested a lot of faith in last year before he cratered in a starting role. Ridder will now be Kyler Murray’s backup in Arizona, while the Falcons got back wide receiver Rondale Moore. More on him in a moment.

That trade left a clear backup for Cousins: Taylor Heinicke. Whether Heinicke will stick as the backup or not largely depends on whether the Falcons plan to invest in a quarterback on the first couple days of the draft, because presumably a (to grab a name) Michael Penix would push Heinicke off the roster in the name of freeing up more cap space. If Heinicke does remain, the Falcons will likely restructure his deal to allow them to spend more money. With Ridder gone, there’s at least a good chance that Heinicke will get to serve as Cousins’ caddy, and if he gets the chance to play, to prove that his struggles were more a function of the offense than his ability.

Running back

Starter: Bijan Robinson

Backup/Complement: Tyler Allgeier

Reserves: Avery Williams, Carlos Washington

Robinson is one of the league’s most exciting young backs, and a player the Falcons will envision as their offensive centerpiece. If he makes strides as a receiver and continues to build on his strong rookie campaign as a runner, Robinson could have a monster sophomore campaign.

Allgeier won’t get as much run with this coaching staff as he did with the last one, but as a powerful complement to Robinson who can handle short yardage situations and has proven he can carry the load when he has to, he’ll still have a role and will be a critical insurance policy for Bijan.

Williams will have a tiny role on offense, but he’s one of the league’s better punt returners and a capable kick returner. So long as he’s healthy, pencil him in for a roster spot and a role here, using his speed occasionally when Zac Robinson calls upon him.

Washington is a roster hopeful whose physical style likely made him more appealing to the last regime than this one, but if he improves this summer, he could muscle his way onto the roster nonetheless.

The team currently does not have a fullback under contract, and Keith Smith may not return this year. We’ll see on that one.

Wide receiver

Starters: Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Rondale Moore

Reserves: KhaDarel Hodge, Ray-Ray McCloud, Josh Ali, Chris Blair, Austin Mack

This went from barren to fairly promising in short order, though the team could still use talent. London stands atop the depth chart as the undisputed most intriguing player here, with his size, hands, and route running standing out even with lackluster quarterback play over the past two seasons. He should be a dream target for Cousins.

He’s joined by Mooney, a vertical threat who has had a rough go of it in the past couple of years in Chicago’s up-and-down offense. An underrated route runner in his own right and a player who has the speed to wreak havoc, Mooney was someone Cousins stumped for and figures to be the team’s #2 wide receiver this year barring a big addition in the draft.

Moore, meanwhile, is the frontrunner for slot duties. Imported from Arizona in the Desmond Ridder trade, Moore is very fast in his own right and has some limited and useful experience serving as a running back, giving him a little positional versatility if the Falcons want to get creative. As a speedy slot receiver who should be able to feast with so much talent around him, Moore is an intriguing bounce-back candidate in Atlanta’s likely-to-be-pass-heavy offense.

For reserves, the team brought back core special teamer Hodge and signed veteran returner McCloud, giving them a pair of useful special teams pieces who can also serve as credible receiving options if the team needs them to. Ali, Blair, and Mack are likely fighting it out for one roster spot and/or a practice squad spot or two this summer after the Falcons invested so heavily in wide receiver over the past couple of days.

Tight end

Starter: Kyle Pitts

Backup/complement: Charlie Woerner

Reserves: John FitzPatrick, Tucker Fisk

This offense is full of breakout candidates, from Robinson to London to Mooney, but Pitts is probably the most intriguing. Victimized by inaccurate passing and suffering through injuries the past couple of seasons, Pitts has had lackluster production. He clearly recruited Cousins hard in the hopes of getting more and more accurate targets, and it’s not hard to imagine a fully healthy Pitts eating well with Cousins throwing him the ball. He’s going to be counted on to be a matchup nightmare in 2024, the way he hasn’t been nearly often enough since the Falcons drafted him fourth overall.

Behind him is Woerner, who will play some in two tight end sets and perhaps spell Pitts at times on clear blocking downs. The Falcons signed Woerner because he’s a proven high-end run blocking tight end who is solid in pass protection, and he’ll get most of his work paving the way for Robinson and Allgeier.

FitzPatrick and Fisk are fighting for one depth role, with the Falcons uncertain to carry more than three tight ends and likely to prioritize a pass catching option if they do keep four. FitzPatrick was drafted for his promise as a blocker but hasn’t been able to show it to this point with injuries and limited playing time, while Fisk was an Arthur Smith favorite who will have to leapfrog FitzPatrick now.

Offensive line

Starters: LT Jake Matthews, LG Matthew Bergeron, C Drew Dalman, RG Chris Lindstrom, RT Kaleb McGary

Reserves: T Storm Norton, C/G Ryan Neuzil, C Jovaughn Gwyn, T John Leglue, T Barry Wesley, T Ryan Swoboda, T Tyler Vrabel, G Kyle Hinton, G Justin Shaffer

The Falcons have their starting five locked up, which is terrific. Bergeron scuffled a bit during his rookie season and McGary dealt with injuries, but generally, the line was pretty good once it found its footing and should be pretty good again this year. That continuity is a big deal for this offense, especially with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford sticking around.

Behind them the team has a useful swing tackle in Norton, who played well last year, and a Ledford favorite in Neuzil, who can play both center and guard in a pinch. Everyone else is fighting for one or two roles, with Hinton (who played pretty well in his opportunities), Gwyn (a 2023 draft pick the Falcons clearly liked, since they kept him on the roster all year even though he was inactive), and Wesley (who is very versatile) figure to be near the front of the line for spots. That’s assuming the Falcons don’t sign or draft more options, of course.

What’s left to do?

The Falcons have done a remarkable amount of work in a short time, bringing in a massive upgrade at quarterback, re-stocking the #2-#5 spots on their wide receiver depth chart, adding a key blocking tight end, and bringing back their swing tackle. They’re now set up so that they don’t have to use the draft to address any needs on this side of the ball, which is an ideal position to be in.

That said, they could still upgrade, both now and in the future. Getting a young quarterback to groom behind Cousins for two or three years and then have a year or two of affordable production still seems smart to me, if the Falcons have a player they like. Adding another high-end receiver talent would be welcome, given that Mooney and Moore are bounceback candidates and everyone else is a depth option. And this team still doesn’t have proven, high-end depth outside of maybe Norton along the offensive line, which means grabbing a long-term starting tackle option or a player they like over the long haul as depth on the interior would make plenty of sense.

As it stands today, a healthy version of this offense would be a pretty formidable offense, with a capable quarterback behind a good offensive line with plenty of weapons to target. If the team can sink some resources into adding a few more useful, young pieces to round things out, the Falcons offense should be a strength again. It will have to be, too, if this team is going to contend.

But again, it should be noted that the commitment to fixing the offense as quickly and thoroughly as possible is very welcome. Now we just wait to see what moves are still yet to come.