ESPN Reveals Atlanta Falcons Offseason Grade

The Worldwide Leader isn't impressed with the moves the Atlanta Falcons made this offseason.

The Atlanta Falcons invested heavily in the quarterback room. ESPN thinks too heavily. / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN Analytics expert Seth Walder has rarely been kind to the Atlanta Falcons and general manager Terry Fontenot. Walder worships at the alter of statistics and perceived positional value. He called using the No. 8 overall pick on running back Bijan Robinson inexcusable last year.

So it was no surprise when his name was atop ESPN's offseason grades, I was going to have to spin the scroll wheel to get to the bottom of the rankings like I was on the Price is Right.

Walder didn't disappoint.

He gave the Falcons a C- for their offseason moves - only three teams getting worse grades.

"Signing Cousins made sense because it allows the Falcons to take advantage of their weak division with improved quarterback play," wrote Walder on ESPN+. "While they didn't have a stacked roster entering the offseason, the building blocks were there and if they hit their acquisitions in free agency and the draft just right they could be a true NFC contender with a healthy Cousins. Selecting Penix, naturally, diminished that chance.

"On the flip side, the value of a quarterback on a rookie contract allows a franchise to invest in the roster around him because rookies come so cheap. But in this case, they pay a veteran QB price for Cousins in the first two years of Penix's contract. To make the two moves together shows a lack of vision."

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It's a valid point to think the Falcons should have gone one way or the other at the quarterback position. Especially if they were targeting a 24-year old in the draft. More experienced, and more mature should mean more-pro ready.

However a coaching change in January gave the Falcons and Raheem Morris a late start on the college evaluation process. SI's Albert Breer reported the Falcons fell head over heels for Penix after the decision to sign Kirk Cousins.

That said, of 32 teams in the NFL, Walder's decision to put the Falcons 29th would come as a surprise if it weren't so predictable.

Cousins was ranked the No. 2 free agent by Walder's ESPN.

If a team fills its biggest need, at the game's most important position, with the No. 2 ranked free agent, on a financially manageable contract... it warrants a grade significantly better than bottom five in the NFL.