Embrace the Rebuild Atlanta Falcons

It is six years since the Atlanta Falcons lost Superbowl 51 to the New England Patriots and we are further away from getting back to the big game than every. We haven't made the playoffs in five seasons. Matt Ryan has the highest cap hit of any player in the NFL and Calvin Ridley has been suspended for the 2022 season for betting on games. The only thing the 2021 Atlanta Falcons done well was win close games against the leagues worst teams. The Fontenot and Smith regime have been hamstrung by limited cap space, but them suggesting that "We're trying to have our cake and eat it too.", will continue to see the Falcons be a team not good enough for the playoffs and too good to net a quarterback of the future.

Tear it down

This won't be a quick fix. I have seen people compare us with the Cincinnati Bengals, who had a meteoric rise to the Superbowl last season. This is a completely different scenario, the Bengals had plenty of cap room and a young signal caller on a cheap contract. Trying to build a championship roster in two years, when you are paying veteran players huge sums is close to impossible. Unless you have Tom Brady under center, it is much more difficult to build a Superbowl roster without a quarterback on a rookie contract. The past 5 Superbowls have involved a team with a Quarterback on a rookie deal (Burrow, Mahomes x 2, Goff and Wentz) that allowed them to build up the rest of the roster. Russell Wilson, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes all won the Superbowl on their rookie contracts.

Although the Falcons improved to 7 wins in 2021, it wasn't enough to earn a playoff spot. Some sections of the fanbase might kid themselves into thinking we aren't far away from being a quality team. Against playoff teams last season we had an 0-7 record and a score differential of -143 in those seven defeats. With the NFC South weakened by Sean Payton quitting and Tom Brady retiring, Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith might fall into the trap of thinking the Falcons could be a playoff team in 2022. Even if we did make the playoffs, we don't have the pieces to go on a long playoff run. The goal of every team is to win the Superbowl and to achieve this goal, we need to tear it down and rebuild from the ground up.

In Matt Ryan, Grady Jarrett and Jake Matthews, the Falcons have tradable assets that they could turn into day one or two draft picks. Foye Oloukun is rumoured to want $10 million a year to re-sign. If the Falcons allow him to walk, it would net them a future compensatory pick. The product the Falcons have put on the field in recent years has seen the Mercedes Benz Stadium half empty for every home game. Something has to change.

Matt Ryan

No man divides the Falcons fanbase as much as Matt Ryan. The 2016 NFL MVP is still a quality starting quarterback, who is surrounded by one of the most talent devoid rosters in the league. Tom Brady managed to play at an elite level into his 40s, but he wasn't hit anywhere near as often as Matt Ryan has been throughout his career. The Indianapolis Colts just traded away Carson Wentz leaving them with a gaping hole at quarterback and the most cap space of any NFL team. They could be a potential trade partner. The Falcons would instantly become the leagues worst team, if they traded Ryan away. They would have to eat $40 million in dead cap. However, it would make them the favourites to land CJ Stroud or Bryce Young in 2023, whom are much higher rated then the QBs in this years draft. Let the greatest quarterback in franchise history have a chance of winning in his final few years, rather then make him endure being on a team nowhere close to winning a Lombardi trophy.

Grady Jarrett

Jarrett is a top 10 defensive tackle in the NFL, he had only 1 sack last season, his lowest total since his rookie year. To be fair to Jarrett, he wasn't helped at all by the players beside him on the defensive line. When the 2022 season starts, Jarrett will be 29 years old, his trade value won't get higher than it is now. Jarrett will request a big contract if he is to sign an extension. One mistake, the last regime made in Atlanta was they constantly overpaid aging players. 

Jake Matthews

Matthews is 30 years old and although tackles seem to age well in todays NFL, his trade value is at its highest now. Teams are always looking for quality starters at left tackle, there would be plenty of interest in Matthews, if Atlanta made him available. 

Winning in the NFL requires you to be bold. The LA Rams gave away first round picks over and over again without hesitation. Playing it safe won't see the Falcons compete for a Lombardi in the near future. Can you name one team as talentless and with such limited cap room as the Falcons? We have needs in the following positions running back, tightend, wide receiver, offensive line, edge rusher, defensive tackle, linebacker, cornerback and safety. Most of those needs require atleast 2 players at each position. Terry Fontenot should seriously consider trading down to accumulate more draft picks in April. We are deluding ourselves if we think we can be a competitive team next season. Many think that 2022 might be Matt Ryans last as a Falcons, but I dont see a benefit to delaying the rebuild. Keeping him will potentially play ourselves out of the best possible replacement quarterback in the 2023 draft. Eat the dead cap. The only way this franchise is getting fixed is by stock piling draft capital. If Fontenot and Smith don't embrace the rebuild, I guarantee they'll be out of a job by 2024.