For the most part, the 2023 offseason has been a strong one for the Atlanta Falcons. They had a ton of cap space at their disposal and they have not been afraid to use it. Multiple holes on the roster have been addressed with the moves that they have made.
Tight end Jonnu Smith was acquired from the New England Patriots and is reunited with head coach Arthur Smith. The two spent time together on the Tennessee Titans, where J. Smith had the best seasons of his career. He wasn’t the only weapon the team added as wide receiver Mack Hollins was signed away from the Las Vegas Raiders.
Atlanta’s leaky defense, which ranked 23rd in points allowed and 27th in yardage, received upgrades as well. Safety Jessie Bates III was the biggest splash, signing a four-year, $64 million deal to leave the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Falcons also raided the cash-strapped New Orleans Saints for two more upgrades. Defensive tackle David Onyemata and linebacker Kaden Elliss were both signed to multi-year deals.
Overall, that is a solid offseason for the franchise. They will add another impact player to the mix with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite that, some people are viewing the Falcons as one of the biggest losers in 2023 NFL Free Agency. Not because of a move that they have made, but for one that they didn’t.
Arguably the most glaring hole that the Falcons have is at the quarterback position. They are set to start Desmond Ridder and signed Taylor Heinickie to be his backup. But, what made the Falcons losers this offseason was their non-pursuit of Lamar Jackson.
26-year-old former MVPs don’t become available often in the NFL. Those are players franchises build around, not play hardball with as the Baltimore Ravens are doing. It was a situation ripe for the picking as Atlanta would have quickly vaulted to the top of the NFC South with Jackson leading the way.
When taking into consideration the amount of cap space that Atlanta had, they are one of the few teams who could have made a competitive offer the Ravens may not have matched. Two first-round picks aren’t an overly steep price either when taking into consideration what other teams have traded for quarterbacks recently and none are as dynamic or possess the upside that Jackson does.
This isn’t a bad offseason for the Falcons by any means. However, it could have been a truly special one had they taken the leap and made an upgrade at the quarterback position.
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