After an offseason in which the Falcons did little with the offense other than bring in new coordinator Steve Sarkisian, and made enough additions to the defense to cover their major holes, Sports Illustrated writer Emily Kaplan gives Atlanta an offseason grade of B.
“Overall, it seemed Dimitroff didn’t push the panic button after the Super Bowl collapse,” Kaplan wrote. “He barely touched the offense and made enough tweaks on defense to hope his players can repeat what they did in 2016, with a better finish.”
She cites the return of cornerback Desmond Trufant, signing of Dontari Poe to replace Dwight Freeney, and the drafting of Takkarist McKinley as a long-term pass-rush solution as the major changes that should help bolster the defense in 2017. She wrote that a scout told her McKinley “could be the next DeMarcus Ware.”
Related story: Cover 9@9: Who won the NFC South offseason title?
