Atlanta Falcons Roster: 1 Big Strength, 1 Glaring Weakness

Training camp is just around the corner.

The Atlanta Falcons don't have many high expectations thrust upon them heading into the 2022 season, but that's not how the players on the team see it.

Some believe that Atlanta is a playoff team despite trading away quarterback Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts and opting to fill most of the holes on the roster with younger players and temporary solutions.

But along with the strengths come the weaknesses ... or at least that is how Pro Football Focus sees it.

Let's dissect PFF's view of the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the Falcons roster ...

Biggest Strength: Cornerback

The Falcons finally pushed reset on a roster that had been heading inevitably in that direction for a while, and though their draft was excellent, it means there aren’t a lot of areas of strength as the team tears things down in order to rebuild from a solid foundation. A.J. Terrell was a revelation at corner last season, allowing 43.9% of passes thrown his way to be caught for a passer rating of 47.5. Casey Hayward showed he still had some gas in the tank and that gives the Falcons an imposing cornerback duo heading into the season.

Biggest Weakness: Pass Rush

Their weaknesses are extensive, but pass-rush is arguably the biggest issue. For years, this has been Grady Jarrett by himself, but Jarrett had a PFF pass-rush grade of 67.2 and notched just 38 pressures last season. Their primary edge rushers are a rookie and a reclamation project in Lorenzo Carter who has never had a PFF pass-rushing grade above 62.0


Published
Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.