2021 NFL Team Draft Page

The last two weeks have been whiplash-inducing for the Falcons. They were humiliated by the Saints, despite having two weeks to prepare for the game, and then torched the Raiders... who had previously beaten the Saints. The offense is still largely underperforming, given its talent level. While Atlanta has averaged about 400 yards of offense per game, the past two weeks have seen them grind out just 248 and 304 ypg, respectively. In the Raiders contest, five turnovers and 141 yards of Vegas penalties still only led to 3 offensive touchdowns. Dirk Koetter remains incapable of creating a game plan without Julio Jones, and is averaging only 25.2 ppg, even with the 43-point outburst and having first-round draft picks at 11 offensive positions.


Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich have largely turned the defense around. Since taking over, Atlanta has kept their opponents under 25 points (with the exception of garbage-time points against Denver). With the offensive firepower at Atlanta's disposal, holding your opponent to an average of 20 points a game since the coaching change is encouraging. Owner Arthur Blank was fooled by last year's strong finish, and he might be gun-shy about bringing Morris back, even if the interim skipper ends up with an 8-3 record. At the very least, bringing in either an experienced or creative offensive mind to pair with Morris could unlock this offensive talent that Dirk Koetter has largely choked out. Jim Caldwell is at least experienced with pocket passers like Matt Ryan.

Still, it's unlikely that Morris wins the bulk of his games with Kansas City, New Orleans, and Tampa (twice) on the docket. Atlanta will still likely be looking to replace both their GM and HC this January. Adding talent to the defensive line, the secondary, and potentially the interior of the offensive line are all possibilities for a team that will need to use the draft to improve their roster, as they have almost no cap space.

Check out our new Team Page feature, the Falcons' Team Page shows the entire roster of Atlanta picks for Consensus Mock Draft #10 centralized in one place.

~ Greg Hawes, DraftTek Senior Analyst