FLOWERY BRANCH — With a new coach and quarterback, optimism is high as the Falcons are set to report for training camp Wednesday.
Because of the hiring of Raheem Morris and the signing of Kirk Cousins in free agency, the Falcons are predicted by many prognosticators to knock off three-time defending NFC South champion Tampa Bay.
Even Las Vegas is high on the Falcons, with several betting houses giving them a 9.5 over/under on their win-total projection. They are ignoring that the Falcons have posted six consecutive losing seasons.
Cousins is coming back from a ruptured Achilles and turns 36 on Aug. 19. In addition, defensive stalwart Grady Jarrett, a two-time Pro Bowl lineman, is working his way back from knee surgery.
“Our goal for 2024 as a defense is to be top five in every single category,” second-team All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III said. “That’s the goal.”
If Cousins can boost the offense and Bates gets some help on defense, that could be a winning formula. Bates led the defense with 132 tackles last season. But the defenders in front of Bates must make plays for the defense to improve dramatically. It’s never a good thing when a safety is the leading tackler.
“The main thing is to win football games,” Bates said. “I felt like last year, we put together really good games where at the end of the games we let up. We let offenses score in some critical situations, and that’s where we have to get better as a defense.”
Under third-year coach Arthur Smith, the Falcons were 4-6 in one-score games with Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke playing quarterback. Just hours after a 48-17 loss to the Saints to end the regular season, Smith was fired.
“Being able to close out games,” Bates said. “Having an elite quarterback like Kirk, we’re going to put some points on the board. Defend the lead and take over the game as a defense is something that we’ll continue to harp on and get better at.”
Here are five positions battles to watch as the Falcons opening camp.
1. Cornerback: The Falcons looked at rookie Clark Phillips III late last season. He started five games after he was selected in the fourth round (113th overall) of the draft out of Utah.
He’s a tough, hard-nosed player. He held up in coverage on deep routes, too.
It wasn’t pretty at times, but he apparently showed enough to get a shot at the starting spot; the Falcons didn’t draft a cornerback and don’t have enough money to obtain a top-flight veteran.
Phillips was targeted 36 times and gave up 18 catches (50%) for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterbacks had a 88.8 passer rating when throwing at Phillips. He also had 27 tackles.
Mike Hughes, Dee Alford (a Griffin native) and Richie Grant will battle for the nickel position.
There are some veteran cornerbacks who remain unsigned. Stephon Gilmore, 33, a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, is available. So are Xavien Howard, 30, a four-time Pro Bowler, and Patrick Peterson, 34, an eight-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.
Other veteran free-agent cornerbacks include Adoree Jackson, J.C. Jackson and Eli Apple.
The Falcons have $4.054 million remaining under the cap, according to the NFL players union.
At cornerback, the Falcons also have Antonio Hamilton, Jayden Price, Trey Vaval, Natrone Brooks and Kevin King, a former starter with the Packers trying to make a comeback after missing the past two seasons because of injuries.
2. Slot receiver: The Falcons signed Darnell Mooney, Rondale Moore and Ray-Ray McCloud in free agency.
Mooney was signed to a three-year deal worth $39 million, with $26 million guaranteed. He was the Bears’ WR2 after they traded for D.J. Moore last season. He’s slated to be outside opposite of Drake London as the Falcons will feature 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers). But with the Falcons also working tight end Kyle Pitts at wide receiver, Mooney could slide into the slot at times.
The Falcons must figure out how to unleash the speedy Moore, who’s made 23 starts and played in 39 games but has scored only three touchdowns. He was acquired from the Cardinals in the Ridder trade.
McCloud, a former Clemson standout, mostly has been a return man in the NFL. He’s going to get a shot to earn more time as a wide receiver.
3. Safety: Richie Grant was drafted in the second round (40th) in the 2021 NFL draft. The Falcons were hoping that Bates would pair well with Grant and form a dynamic tandem. But Grant struggled, especially covering tight ends, and ended up being moved to nickel/dime back late last season.
DeMarcco Hellams took over for Grant. Hellams, a seventh-round (224th) pick in the 2023 draft out of Alabama, played well alongside Bates.
4. Outside linebacker: With Bud Dupree (Chargers) and Calais Campbell (Dolphins) leaving in free agency, Arnold Ebiketie is the team’s top returning pass rusher. Dupree and Campbell tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks last season.
Ebiketie had with six sacks while playing 384 defensive snaps (34% of the available plays). He played in all 17 games and made six starts. To go with the six sacks, he had five hurries and four quarterback knockdowns. He had 25 tackles overall.
The Falcons also have veteran Lorenzo Carter, a former Georgia and Norcross High standout, and drafted Bralen Trice in the third round out of Washington. Bradlee Anae, Kehinde Oginni and DeAngelo Malone, who starred at Cedar Grove High, also are listed as outside linebackers on the roster.
5. Kickoff returners: Running back Avery Williams, who missed last season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in June, led the league in punt returns with an average of 16.2 yards in 2022. He will get a shot to also handle kickoffs after Cordarrelle Patterson was not re-signed.
Williams averaged 21.3 yards on 23 kickoff returns as a rookie in 2021. He averaged 19.6 yards on 16 returns in 2022.
Williams will have some competition from Moore, McCloud, Hughes and possibly running back Tyler Allgeier.
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