2020 Atlanta Falcons offseason roundtable: Part 1

Installment one of our 2020 offseason roundtable.

For part one of our 2020 Atlanta Falcons offseason roundtable, we discuss the biggest area of need entering what is sure to be a busy Spring (and Summer) of roster building around the NFL. 

What is the biggest area of need for the Falcons heading into the offseason?

Brady: Pass rush, and it’s not really up for discussion. Outside of Grady Jarrett, there’s hardly anyone on Atlanta’s defensive front that can consistently get after the quarterback. Especially now that Vic Beasely isn’t coming back. I’d be surprised if this need isn’t addressed with the Falcons’ 16th pick in the upcoming draft, along with a free agent signing or two. Even then, the D-line still may be the weakness of the team.

Chris: Defensive end. The Atlanta Falcons pass rush needs immediate and substantial help. Vic Beasley’s exit only intensifies that. The Falcons have to give Grady Jarrett a lot of help. Last season, Beasley led the team in sacks — a category the team tied for 29th in the league in. Not great. With Beasley’s exit, it’s now worse. Atlanta should target defensive ends and tackles in free agency and the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Christian: Defensive line. The Falcons really struggled with getting to the passer last season with only 28 sacks. With the Vic Beasley experience coming to an end, and Takk McKinley’s time so far being extremely inconsistent, they will need to add defensive line help bad. The team also struggle against the run at times last year as well. They have no choice to spend multiple picks on lineman in the draft

Dave: Defensive Line. The Falcons relied on short-term “band-aids” to add depth to their pass rush last offseason, and that cost the team mightily. On its way to a 1-7 start, the team had just seven sacks. The Falcons can’t make the same mistake this season. They must add impactful players to their defensive line to get back to the playoffs in 2020.

Jeremy: Defensive line. The Falcons have a bunch of stop gap guys on the interior and just cut ties with their leading sack man in Vic Beasley. The have two solid starters in Grady Jarrett and Takkarist McKinley. They will need to find two starters and a sub or two this offseason. They will also need to find a way to add talented options and not just bodies.

Malik: Defensive Line. For a team that has barely been able to get to the quarterback in the Dan Quinn era, beefing up the defensive line is a must this offseason. You saw how much success the Falcons had during the last stretch of the season when they started getting sacks? I see them drafting a DE and possibly signing some more in free agency as well.

Rashad: Majority rules. The Falcons were all around bad in 2019 but add a mediocre defensive front with the breakup of Vic Beasley and you have even a great need at the position. Takkarist McKinnley talks a big game but all of 2019 he, almost, got to the quarterback. Grady Jarrett can't do it all by himself, and 2019 was a great example of that.

Zach: Pass rush. The rest of the defense wasn’t great, but the lack of pressure on opposing QBs made it tough to get stops for an Atlanta group that ranked 24th in total defense per Pro Football Focus, and finished T-29th in sacks. With three of the first 55 picks, Atlanta should address the pass rush situation in the draft more than once.

Stay tuned for the rest of our offseason roundtable series.