theProf Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Falcons deemed best fit for several marquee free agents by ESPN Story by Alex Lord, SportsTalkATL • 35m ago The Falcons have nearly $56 million in cap space entering the offseason, and that figure could easily balloon to nearly $70 million if Atlanta parts ways with Marcus Mariota. For the first time in what feels like forever, the club will have some cash to do some shopping in free agency, and there is no shortage of roster needs. The Falcons will be active in the free agent market, and Matt Bowen of ESPN thinks Jamel Dean, Dalvin Tomlinson, T.J. Edwards, and Sam Darnold are perfect fits. 9. Jamel Dean, CB Best team fit: Atlanta Falcons A 26-year-old defender who plays a premium position, Dean will have multiple options on the market. The Titans are a potential landing spot, too, but I like the idea of pairing him with A.J. Terrell in Atlanta to give the Falcons two corners with press-man ability and backfield vision in zone looks. Dean is long at 6-foot-1, can disrupt throwing windows and creates on-the-ball production. He had double-digit pass breakups in each of his first three pro seasons, with two interceptions last year. 30. Dalvin Tomlinson, DT Best team fit: Atlanta Falcons The Falcons could boost their defensive line with Tomlinson, a 325-pound nose guard who can play as a 1-technique in a 40 front. With 13 sacks over six pro seasons, Tomlinson isn’t going to bring high-end pass-rush production to Atlanta. But thanks to lateral quickness and that size, Tomlinson can clog up running lanes, demand double-teams and provide an interior push next to Grady Jarrett to take away opposing quarterback’s throwing platforms. 37. T.J. Edwards, ILB Best team fit: Atlanta Falcons Edwards is a stack linebacker who will key and diagnose quickly versus the run, and he has the second-level range to impact zone windows. His 159 tackles tied for sixth in the NFL last season, and he can be schemed as a blitzer in both base and sub-personnel packages. Atlanta ranked 25th in yards allowed per play in 2022 (5.7), and it needs a playmaker in the middle of the defense. 49. Sam Darnold, QB Best team fit: Atlanta Falcons We can look at Darnold as competition for an incumbent starter or as a high-level No. 2 quarterback. And with the expectation the Falcons cut Marcus Mariota, Darnold would work in Atlanta as competition for second-year QB Desmond Ridder in Arthur Smith’s system. In six starts last season for the Panthers, Darnold completed 58.6% of his passes for 1,143 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s a good mover with arm talent and second-reaction ability, but we still see some limitations late in the down, where his decision-making declines. A return to Carolina is possible, too. These are very interesting free agent prospects. The Falcons need at least one more tarting-caliber cornerback this offseason, and Jamel Dean makes a lot of sense. PFF projects Dean to command a four-year, $68 million deal. Depending on how you value Dean, $17 million annually is a bargain. Spotrac projects a similar deal for just over three years instead of four at $16.5 million per year. There’s been no indication that Casey Hayward could be cut, but it’s a possibility for an aging player coming off a season ended by injury. In that case, Atlanta would need two starters. Isaiah Oliver deserves consideration for the nickel role, but the boundary opposite of Terrell would be up for grabs. Dean makes a lot of sense in that scenario. Tomlinson started his career in New York and primarily assumed nose tackle snaps for the Giants. He played in 13 games in 2022 and tallied 42 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery. Tomlinson is a massive human whose primary asset is clogging up running lanes. He has posted 13 sacks over six seasons, so he’d do nothing more than garner double teams and provide an interior push, but that could be just what the doctor ordered for Grady Jarrett to get more one on ones. PFF projects a $35.25 million contract over three years, an average annual value of $11.75 million per year. Spotrac has Dalvin Tomlinson’s market value at three years, $25.5 million, with an average annual value of $8.5 million. That’s a more palatable per-year salary, but the term is longer. T.J. Edwards is Jake’s top free agent linebacker: One of the breakout stars of the best defense in the NFL, Edwards was one of my big targets for Atlanta in the 2019 NFL Draft (along with his Wisconsin teammate TJ Watt). Edwards is the leader of a defense that gave up the fewest amount of yards in the NFL and totaled 70 sacks. He really has no weaknesses as a player. If Atlanta is going to throw somebody a bag, it should be Edwards, who’s only 26 this offseason. Now, for the most interesting of the free agents, who would likely make the smallest impact — Sam Darnold. The USC product posted a 4-2 record while throwing seven touchdowns to just three interceptions for the Panthers last year. In those six starts, he completed under 60% of his passes for 1,143 yards. Darnold displayed the arm talent and mobility that made him the no. 3 overall pick, but his decision-making was still questionable. The Falcons need a quarterback to compete with Desmond Ridder in training camp, and Sam Darnold is certainly a candidate. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/falcons-deemed-best-fit-for-several-marquee-free-agents-by-espn/ar-AA17NVFe?ocid=windirect&cvid=61e015545a704f28817292e76c3f04de gazoo, PokerSteve and Hashbrown3 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalconAge Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Potentially signing Jamel Dean and Jessie Bates together would be insane given: 1. We will need to extend AJ Terrell soon (teams normally don't pay elite money for 2 cbs) 2. The draft's best position in CB BUT Given how strong it is, it may push down some other guys we like at positions of need and we can double dip at D-line or maybe even get a sneaky 2nd round offensive player. As is the case with holding onto McGary for another year, it's all about opportunity cost. Lionzblade, Thiccolas Cage, arrogantBEAST and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PriMeTiiMe Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I will call for everyone to be fired if we sign Sam Darnold. Keep him the h*ll away. opensource001, campdirtybirdz, mountain_jim3 and 26 others 5 8 15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigerfan Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 18 minutes ago, PriMeTiiMe said: I will call for everyone to be fired if we sign Sam Darnold. Keep him the h*ll away. My biggest concern is it would prohibit us from giving Ridder his fair shake with a former high pick looking over his shoulder. gritsnsausage and FalconJim 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigerfan Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Best fit = team with most money and needs. Tim Mazetti, ItsJustMe, ChickenBiscuit and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Chief Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 vitaman, Tim Mazetti, Flyin' In DC and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swayzee Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 6 minutes ago, autigerfan said: My biggest concern is it would prohibit us from giving Ridder his fair shake with a former high pick looking over his shoulder. So you are cool with just giving the job to Ridder without any competition because your worried about him looking over his shoulder?? ATLFalcons11 and natod12 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionzblade Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Stop linking ******* Sam Darnold to us. I would rather have franks start.... well maybe not that far. PokerSteve, Brehus, Diesel_Bird and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionzblade Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 7 minutes ago, autigerfan said: My biggest concern is it would prohibit us from giving Ridder his fair shake with a former high pick looking over his shoulder. its sam darnold lol,if anything that isnt enough competition and im 100% team ridder. FalconJim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChickenBiscuit Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 11 minutes ago, autigerfan said: Best fit = team with most money and needs. AKA the most desperate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigerfan Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 7 minutes ago, Swayzee said: So you are cool with just giving the job to Ridder without any competition because your worried about him looking over his shoulder?? Unless TF and AS saw something in Darnold that others missed, I don't think it helps to bring in another failed 1st rounder to push Ridder. I'd probably rather draft someone that the current brass thinks would really elevate the QB position over what Ridder brings in 2023 and beyond. I think he deserves a fair shake to win the job based upon what I saw from him last year. At some point we have to start building rather than tearing down. FalconJim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flrybranch Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Dean is a really nice player and would love to see him in a Falcon uni, but like @FalconAgesaid it's hard to pay 2 elite CBs Tomlinson at $8M/yr is good. At $15M/yr no thanks. I would gladly overpay for TJE. One of my favorite FA available. I want a veteran QB as QB2. If Darnold is the pick I'm OK with it. So long as there are no illusion that it is a real QB competition. Summerhill, MilleniumFalcon, Syndicate0017 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swayzee Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 9 minutes ago, flrybranch said: Dean is a really nice player and would love to see him in a Falcon uni, but like @FalconAgesaid it's hard to pay 2 elite CBs Tomlinson at $8M/yr is good. At $15M/yr no thanks. I would gladly overpay for TJE. One of my favorite FA available. I want a veteran QB as QB2. If Darnold is the pick I'm OK with it. So long as there are no illusion that it is a real QB competition. So you you want a vet that is cool with collecting a paycheck, and backing up a guy that has literally accomplished nothing. Why are you afraid to bring in someone that actually wants to start and give them a fair unbiased chance to win QB1 outright and that is assuming we don't make a trade, or bring in a vet starter, which I personally think happens. I can see your scenario if there was a huge financial component tied to a young player, but that is not the case at all. Aluminafalcon, ATLFalcons11 and Godzilla1985 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Doktor Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 No to Darnold. He is right there with Locke and Rosen. Three never-were's. Have talent but don't have it between the ears. No processing speed. The NFL is Cray supercomputer levels of processing, these three are VIC-20. Jimsmusic™ and ratesforless 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flrybranch Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, Swayzee said: So you you want a vet that is cool with collecting a paycheck, and backing up a guy that has literally accomplished nothing. Why are you afraid to bring in someone that actually wants to start and give them a fair unbiased chance to win QB1 outright and that is assuming we don't make a trade, or bring in a vet starter, which I personally think happens. I can see your scenario if there was a huge financial component tied to a young player, but that is not the case at all. Well I didn't fully expand on my QB thoughts, cause well they change constantly but here goes. I "assume" DR is the QB1 moving forward until I see evidence otherwise. IMO bringing in someone like Darnold , who had already had two bites at the apple, is not really bringing in a legit contender to supplant DR. Not a fan of trading for LJ or JF because there are too many holes on the roster and those 2 would cost way too many resources. Outside of those 2 I don't see any vet that offers more that DR. Drafting one of the big 3, that will also cost too many resources. Actually think Hendon Hooker would be a good fit for AS offense. Medical pending of course. Edit: it's still February so I reserve the right to change my mind and/or admit I was wrong. Combine and pro days are a thing. ratesforless, Vandy, PokerSteve and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killing Floor Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 2 hours ago, PriMeTiiMe said: I will call for everyone to be fired if we sign Sam Darnold. Keep him the h*ll away. Same. He’s not half the quarterback that Mariota is. Please no. But any other name on that list in OP is ok. PokerSteve and ItsJustMe 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opensource001 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 3 hours ago, PriMeTiiMe said: I will call for everyone to be fired if we sign Sam Darnold. Keep him the h*ll away. I can't figure out how someone can be so flagrantly average at their best and still have a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wjcorner Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 33 minutes ago, opensource001 said: I can't figure out how someone can be so flagrantly average at their best and still have a job. There's not 32 humans capable of being above average as an NFL QB, much less 64. gazoo, Aluminafalcon, Tim Mazetti and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 48 minutes ago, opensource001 said: I can't figure out how someone can be so flagrantly average at their best and still have a job. 14 minutes ago, Wjcorner said: There's not 32 humans capable of being above average as an NFL QB, much less 64. Plus he’s just 25 years old. I’ve never been a fan, but I’d rather Darnold be our backup than most of the names I’ve seen thrown around in here lately. RetroRoq, Dr Long Shot, Wjcorner and 5 others 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTrue7 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, opensource001 said: I can't figure out how someone can be so flagrantly average at their best and still have a job. Because he was drafted #3 overall.. He can't be a bust.. right?! opensource001 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezekiel 25:17 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 4 hours ago, PriMeTiiMe said: I will call for everyone to be fired if we sign Sam Darnold. Keep him the h*ll away. The whole type of QB that Art likes is athletic. Not sure Darnold fits this bill. ShoNuff and Tim Mazetti 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezekiel 25:17 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 25 minutes ago, Vandy said: Plus he’s just 25 years old. I’ve never been a fan, but I’d rather Darnold be our backup than most of the names I’ve seen thrown around in here lately. I just don’t like that we would have to run pretty much a different offense with him. Not sure that would be a good thing as we don’t have the best pass blockers in the world. Vandy, Mid-Nite-Toker and ATL Fan in the DMV 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 2 hours ago, Ezekiel 25:17 said: I just don’t like that we would have to run pretty much a different offense with him. Not sure that would be a good thing as we don’t have the best pass blockers in the world. I hear you, we’d have to change offense more toward what he did with Ryan. But AS would have to make changes for just about any backup if Ridder went down. Ezekiel 25:17 and Tim Mazetti 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aluminafalcon Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 23 minutes ago, Ezekiel 25:17 said: I just don’t like that we would have to run pretty much a different offense with him. Not sure that would be a good thing as we don’t have the best pass blockers in the world. We wouldn’t really. You can still run rpo with qb not running the ball. Darnold is fast enough to handle bootlegs. There are ways to establish backside pressure besides zone reads. A pro offense is based around concepts you want to establish not specific plays. You can design around whatever your priorities no matter what personnel you have Freddies 3rd Cuz, FA91, RetroRoq and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddies 3rd Cuz Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 19 minutes ago, Aluminafalcon said: We wouldn’t really. You can still run rpo with qb not running the ball. Darnold is fast enough to handle bootlegs. There are ways to establish backside pressure besides zone reads. A pro offense is based around concepts you want to establish not specific plays. You can design around whatever your priorities no matter what personnel you have This ^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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