ESPN lists six Falcons among the NFL’s 100 best players. Though none is ranked higher than 67th – eight 49ers merited inclusion, all among the top 66 – this seems an indication of … well, something.
The six, counting downward from 100: Chris Lindstrom, AJ Terrell, Kirk Cousins, Matthew Judon, Bijan Robinson and Jessie Bates. That’s an O-lineman, a cornerback, a QB, an edge rusher – yes, an edge rusher! – a running back and a safety. That’s three on offense, three on defense. San Francisco’s octet isn’t so balanced – six on offense, five at skill positions.
Of the Falcons’ six, two haven’t played a regular-season down for this club; two are holdovers from the “co-team-building” era of Quinn/Dimitroff. So: something old, something new. Also of interest: Six marks twice the number of honorees from the rest of the NFC South. New Orleans and Carolina have zero; Tampa Bay has three.
About here, you might be thinking, “Isn’t this making a lot of what mightn’t amount to much? How many winning seasons have the Falcons had lately?” The answer – none over the past six. That’s why yours truly is impressed. As bad as the Falcons have been, they’ve assembled a nice-looking roster. The Eagles have had one losing season since 2016; they likewise have six of the top 100.
The point being: With such a roster, you’d better win.
Over the past six months, the Falcons spent $180 million – not counting a fine of $250K and docking of a fifth-round pick for tampering – on Cousins, who has presided over one playoff win. They landed Judon, of whom the Patriots had seen enough, for a third-round pick. They just made Terrell the second-highest-paid cornerback ever; he has made All-Pro once, that as a second-teamer in 2021.
Those were win-now moves, which makes sense – even the expansion Falcons of Hecker and Van Brocklin didn’t go six years without nosing above .500. Spotrac reports that the Falcons’ 53-man roster is the NFL’s most expensive. That’s not a sign of gradual rebuild. That’s the sign of urgency if not desperation.
Arthur Blank, Falcons owner since 2002, has no Super Bowl ring, though his team’s blown lead was etched, literally, into another team’s ring. GM Terry Fontenot arrived alongside head coach Arthur Smith. Raheem Morris, interim HC when Smith was hired, has since succeeded his predecessor. If that doesn’t sound like a Falcons-type move, I don’t know what does.
At February’s combine, Morris said: “If (they) had better quarterback play last year in Atlanta, I might not be standing here.” And we can’t say the Falcons didn’t address the position. They addressed the heck out of it.
For reasons many NFL voices find elusive, the Falcons followed the Cousins acquisition by sinking the draft’s eighth overall pick and $22.9M into Michael Penix Jr., whose quarterbacking services mightn’t be needed until 2026. (OK, so not really a win-now move, and maybe not a Falcons-type move.)
There’ll be no middle ground for the 2024 Falcons. If they don’t win the seldom-unwinnable NFC South, they’ll have failed. They have the manpower. They have the schedule. They might just have the coaching. Their measuring stick shouldn’t stop with the Bucs, Saints and Panthers. It should include the 49ers, Eagles and Lions.
There’s pressure on Morris, on Cousins, on the whole organization. That said, we shouldn’t borrow from the Braves and label this season championship-or-bust. This time around, winning the division and advancing in the playoffs should suffice.
Target date for winning the Super Bowl: Feb. 8, 2026. Game’s in Santa Clara. Clock’s ticking.
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