The NFL Teams That Are Getting the Most—and Least—for Their Buck

[quotemokc]

Every team has a salary cap and a salary floor, but how they spend within in that range varies greatly. Here are the teams that have made the best and worst investments this year.

 

Not Getting What They Paid For

Atlanta Falcons

The 1-7 Falcons are not the worst team in football, but no team has as wide of a gap between who they are and who they thought they would be entering this season. In terms of pure cash spent on players this year (which is different than the salary cap), the Falcons handed out more than a quarter of a billion dollars in 2019, the most in the league. So far it has netted them one more win than the Dolphins, who have handed out the least in the league. Atlanta has allowed the most points, the second-most points per game (behind only the Dolphins), and the third-most first downs (183). Despite spending the seventh-most money on their secondary, they have the lowest team pass coverage grade on PFF. They are also tied for the fewest interceptions in the league (two), have allowed the second-most passing touchdowns (19), the second-highest opposing passer rating (117.6), and the second-highest adjusted yards per pass attempt (9.7), and knocked down the second-fewest passes (17).

The Falcons spend the 11th-most money on their front-seven defenders but have the worst pass rush in the league. Atlanta has seven sacks in eight games, a mark matched or beaten by 10 players this season. Their two most expensive defenders in 2019 are cornerback Desmond Trufant, who is the 66th-highest-graded cornerback on PFF, and outside linebacker Vic Beasley, who is the 93rd-highest-graded edge defender out of 108 qualifying players. Beasley has 1.5 sacks this season, second most on the team. The Athletic reported last week that the Falcons picked up Beasley’s $12.8 million option in 2019 because they were worried that not doing so would upset CAA, the agency that also represents Julio Jones and Grady Jarrett. Instead it clogged their cap the way the Falcons wish Beasley could clog gaps.

Their future is bleaker than their present. Atlanta currently has the second-least cap space for next season, with less than a million dollars available. They are one of four teams with more than $200 million lined up for their current top 51 players, along with the Vikings, Bears, and Jaguars.

Estimated 2020 salary cap space vs sunk costs (guaranteed, dead, & prorated $)

Top right- Healthy cap and ability to create more

Top left-Healthy cap but harder to create more

Bottom right- Below avg. cap but can create more

Bottom left-Below avg. cap and harder to create

 

 

Atlanta is going to have to make some hard choices. It’s going to have to cut starting center Alex Mack and safety Keanu Neal, which will clear up roughly $14.5 million—enough to pay breakout tight end Austin Hooper with some money leftover. With Matt Ryan, Jones, Devonta Freeman, Trufant, Jarrett, Deion Jones, and Ricardo Allen all locked up long term, the Falcons have gone to amazing lengths to keep the core of a 1-7 team together.

 

 

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/11/1/20943288/team-spending-by-position-patriots-bears-dolphins-giants

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by quotemokc

[FalconsIn2012]

27 minutes ago, quotemokc said:

 

 This should have been my Halloween costume.  It would have been a shoe-in for Costume Most Likely To Cause Nightmares

[FalconAge]

Where was that guy who swore Desmond Trufant was a good a cornerback as you can find in the league....

Oh and as my hot take, I would have traded both Julio and Grady so no issue with Beasley to begin with.

Both have great skill and work ethic, but I think even with unicorn Aaron Donald creating havoc, the NT-UT alignment with a small UT is less useful to a defense overall these days than a DT-DT alignment.

Julio still has it, but he is being paid partly for past performance, when he could be a very different player in just a season or two.

Beasley we couldn't retain if he balled out anyway, so, the 3rd round pick offered last year made the most sense however you slice it.

I still would have signed Tru given the circumstances at the time, and likely would retain Campbell if we can get him for cheap. I want to see what certain guys look like with a coach who enforces discipline.

Of course Deion stays, and he is on a reasonable deal to boot. 

Edited November 6, 2019 by FalconAge

[Lowndesfalc]

It has been a failure of epic proportions across the board from owner, front office, coaches and players. Both effort and and ability. This season has been the most miserable in my 50 years of watching Falcon football which already had a very, very low bar to begin with.

[DogIsYourName]

We have spent too much on too few.  I think the best way to go in the NFL is to never have the highest paid anything.  Only the QB position could justify it.  But most fans just think of the salary cap as some kind of magic trick that can be infinitely manipulated. 

The way Sanu immediately catches two TDs on a more balanced team does give a glimpse into the problem.

[408Falcon]

3 hours ago, FalconAge said:

Where was that guy who swore Desmond Trufant was a good a cornerback as you can find in the league....

Oh and as my hot take, I would have traded both Julio and Grady so no issue with Beasley to begin with.

Both have great skill and work ethic, but I think even with unicorn Aaron Donald creating havoc, the NT-UT alignment with a small UT is less useful to a defense overall these days than a DT-DT alignment.

Julio still has it, but he is being paid partly for past performance, when he could be a very different player in just a season or two.

Beasley we could retain if he balled out, so, the 3rd round pick offered last year made the most sense however you slice it.

I still would have signed Tru given the circumstances at the time, and likely would retain Campbell if we can get him for cheap. I want to see what certain guys look like with a coach who enforces discipline.

Of course Deion stays, and he is on a reasonable deal to boot. 

Agree with a lot except for Julio. He is the Atlanta Falcons man. 

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

3 hours ago, FalconAge said:

Where was that guy who swore Desmond Trufant was a good a cornerback as you can find in the league....

Oh and as my hot take, I would have traded both Julio and Grady so no issue with Beasley to begin with.

Both have great skill and work ethic, but I think even with unicorn Aaron Donald creating havoc, the NT-UT alignment with a small UT is less useful to a defense overall these days than a DT-DT alignment.

Julio still has it, but he is being paid partly for past performance, when he could be a very different player in just a season or two.

Beasley we could retain if he balled out, so, the 3rd round pick offered last year made the most sense however you slice it.

I still would have signed Tru given the circumstances at the time, and likely would retain Campbell if we can get him for cheap. I want to see what certain guys look like with a coach who enforces discipline.

Of course Deion stays, and he is on a reasonable deal to boot. 

What is this based on? 

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

38 minutes ago, DogIsYourName said:

We have spent too much on too few.  I think the best way to go in the NFL is to never have the highest paid anything.  Only the QB position could justify it.  But most fans just think of the salary cap as some kind of magic trick that can be infinitely manipulated. 

The way Sanu immediately catches two TDs on a more balanced team does give a glimpse into the problem.

Not infinitely but significantly and repeatedly. The Saints and Eagles have been doing it for YEARS. 

As for Sanu catching two TDs....that doesnt really say anything at all, TBQH. 

[Jpg428gggg]

57 minutes ago, DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry said:

Not infinitely but significantly and repeatedly. The Saints and Eagles have been doing it for YEARS. 

As for Sanu catching two TDs....that doesnt really say anything at all, TBQH. 

I only saw one of them, but they schemed him open with rub routes for an easy td. This is what happens when you are a primary target vs. a secondary target.

[FalconAge]

1 hour ago, DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry said:

What is this based on? 

Having a line that doesn't sacrifice size at either dt position allows you to force any running game to the outside.

The modern Nfl is calling for faster linebackers, who also happen to usually be a bit lighter in the ***. Ideally, they should be protected in the middle even at the expense of the interior pass rush.

The modern passing game is so lightning quick that getting linebackers who are comfortable enough with their gaps being defended upfront that they are less susceptible to biting on inside run play action is a huge bonus to the defense.

Donald is a unicorn in that he is a dt (or 3-4 DE in Wade's system who actually get sacks.

Getting tons of pressure like Grady does is fun, but more often that not the QB is still completing the pass, so its not as valuable a commodity as being able to shut down an entire component of a team's game plan. This is not to say that larger DTs can never get pressure, Dexter Lawrence( who was my pick for us) in 2019 and Derrick Brown next year are proof that you can be huge and athletic, stout against the run and still able to pressure the pass.

 

[Bridgeburner]

This hits the nail on the head.

 

Devonta Freeman, Vic Beasley, Desmond Trufant, and to an extent Alex Mack and Jake Mathews are the reason we are where we are and have the record that we have.

 

those players are not playing at a level that warrants the money that they are making. If we had the production at those spots related to how much we were spending we would have at the very worst a middle of the pack defense. A defense capable of letting us win some Ugly upper twenty low thirty point games.

 

As it stands now, with the poor production and no money to spend on quality veterans/backup players our roster is so top heavy with under performers we literally have no answer or ability to fix things. Cutting those players wouldn’t have helped, it doesn’t allow us to bring anyone else in.

 

This to me speaks to DQ’s stubborn ness and inability to admit when it was time to let some people walk. If he has ultimate decision making responsibilities when it comes to roster management than TD would have been making the contracts fit based on what DQ told him to do.

 

DQ bet on Beasley, Freeman, and Trufant, and it was not a bet I would have taken. 

 

They all all need to go.

[Zzzzz]

When I first looked at the chart, I thought it was Dan Quinn's defensive scheme. 

[vel]

This is why I say get ready for cap heIl. They have to clean this up and a lot of that has to happen in 2020 if they want to compete beyond then. 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

Correction, we have EXACTLY the same number of wins as the Dolphins and they look way better than us!

Matter of fact, that win is against an AFC Team, something we haven’t done since 2017!

[Jpg428gggg]

17 minutes ago, vel said:

This is why I say get ready for cap heIl. They have to clean this up and a lot of that has to happen in 2020 if they want to compete beyond then. 

Yeah, I still say they messed up with two of the big contracts. Freeman and Trufant. I love Freeman and no one could have predicted his injury issues, but we had too much money tied up in other players to give him that contract. The best way to build a running game is by upgrading the line and utilizing young running backs still on rookie contracts. You can build a good running game without a top back if you have a good offensive line and scheme.

I have always been too critical of Trufant and he is a solid player. But our defense played the best it ever has when he was hurt. Him getting hurt didn’t make us better but it showed that he wasn’t the type of player we couldn’t live without. Grady and Debo are those guys.

[wartownfalcon]

4 hours ago, DogIsYourName said:

The way Sanu immediately catches two TDs on a more balanced team does give a glimpse into the problem.

Sanu only has 1 TD with them. His production is on par with what he was doing here. We just have more options for the ball to go to in the passing game than NE

[vel]

39 minutes ago, Jpg428gggg said:

Yeah, I still say they messed up with two of the big contracts. Freeman and Trufant. I love Freeman and no one could have predicted his injury issues, but we had too much money tied up in other players to give him that contract. The best way to build a running game is by upgrading the line and utilizing young running backs still on rookie contracts. You can build a good running game without a top back if you have a good offensive line and scheme.

I have always been too critical of Trufant and he is a solid player. But our defense played the best it ever has when he was hurt. Him getting hurt didn’t make us better but it showed that he wasn’t the type of player we couldn’t live without. Grady and Debo are those guys.

I have a hard time agreeing on either of those. Freeman was right at the time. He was vital to this team and going forward, you couldn't rely on Coleman being a complete back. He still isn't. Freeman at the time was only 24 years old with little tread. Nobody could have predicted the injury issues he had. 

Trufant, pre-injury, was closing in on being a stud. We hadn't had a shut down CB in a long time and he was trending that way. You assume the defense that ended the year in 2016 with more growth and adding a top tier CB and a first round EDGE would improve. Instead, Tru has been trending in the wrong direction. I agree that it showed he wasn't irreplaceable, but CB is a pillar position and hard to find good ones. 

[Lethal]

1 minute ago, vel said:

I have a hard time agreeing on either of those. Freeman was right at the time. He was vital to this team and going forward, you couldn't rely on Coleman being a complete back. He still isn't. Freeman at the time was only 24 years old with little tread. Nobody could have predicted the injury issues he had. 

Trufant, pre-injury, was closing in on being a stud. We hadn't had a shut down CB in a long time and he was trending that way. You assume the defense that ended the year in 2016 with more growth and adding a top tier CB and a first round EDGE would improve. Instead, Tru has been trending in the wrong direction. I agree that it showed he wasn't irreplaceable, but CB is a pillar position and hard to find good ones. 

Hindsight...

[octoslash]

Keanu Neal is destined to end up being a heart-breaking career cut short.  Hope I'm wrong.  

[MAD597]

5 hours ago, DogIsYourName said:

We have spent too much on too few.  I think the best way to go in the NFL is to never have the highest paid anything.  Only the QB position could justify it.  But most fans just think of the salary cap as some kind of magic trick that can be infinitely manipulated. 

The way Sanu immediately catches two TDs on a more balanced team does give a glimpse into the problem.

At this point and when you look back on the 53 + years the team has existed I think it's better for our city to just ship them to St Louis and start up an expansion team in a few years.

[Knight of God]

Hey at least we didn’t pursue a splashy pick.

[FalconJim]

13 hours ago, quotemokc said:

"The Falcons handed out more than a quarter of a billion dollars in 2019, the most in the league. So far it has netted them one more win than the Dolphins, who have handed out the least in the league" 


This is SO ridiculous, and heads should roll, if I'm Mr. Blank!!!  This staff has NOT been good stewards of his more-than-generous money contributions to this team!  So, in my very best Forrest Gump voice --- that's all I have to say about that!