The Lamar Jackson saga has been arguably the top story of the offseason, and it involves the Falcons, despite the team vehemently denying being interested in the MVP quarterback.
Atlanta didn’t only deny interest; they were the first club to bow out after the Ravens placed the non-exclusive tag on him, which is a complete shock. The Falcons haven’t been to the postseason in five years, and more embarrassingly, the team hasn’t been above .500 in that same period. Lamar Jackson would immediately change that.
Moreover, the fit is seamless. It’s ideal schematically. Arthur Smith’s offense would turn into one of the most high-powered units in the league, led by the ultra-electric Jackson. Off the field, it might even be a more perfect fit.
The city of Atlanta is starving for an exciting player like Lamar Jackson, who is undoubtedly reminiscent of Mike Vick. Despite never accomplishing much for the Falcons, Vick is heralded because of his style of play. Sundays would be fun again with Lamar Jackson in Mercedez-Benz Stadium.
The scenario makes even more sense, given the state of the division. The NFC South is up for grabs, and Jackson would immediately become the best quarterback. The team was willing to give up a considerable amount of assets for Deshaun Watson last year, so it’s pretty puzzling the Falcons came out so quickly to deny interest.
Former Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff tried to illuminate the situation, sharing his opinion with Rich Eisen on why Atlanta hasn’t pursued Lamar Jackson.
Sidenote: It is wild to see TD acknowledge the mess he made with the salary cap; it makes him likable. He’s obviously self-aware.
If you ask me, Dimitroff says a lot of nothing in this clip but mentions something I want to discuss. He talks about the Falcons just getting out of cap hell and wanting to build the roster the right way, which might be true. The Falcons finally have an arsenal of draft picks and enough cap space to field a competitive roster, but did that not factor into the team’s decision to pursue Deshaun Watson last year?
It just doesn’t pass the smell test. Sure, the Falcons are high on Desmond Ridder. They’ve done their best to talk him up to the media despite a poor four-game sample size. The reality is he may turn into a quality quarterback; I think he can be a better-than-league average starter in this league, but there’s a 26-year-old MVP available that fits in more than one way.
It’s nearly impossible to win a Super Bowl in this league, so I’ll never disregard one team’s approach, but having a top-ten quarterback certainly makes it more attainable.
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