The Falcons took a running back at #8. Never mind that he's one of the best prospects in this year's draft class. Clearly they have no idea what they're doing. Look at their quarterback, for heaven's sake. They should have taken an edge rusher in the first round, another edge rusher in the second round, and then another in the third round. At least they got it right by taking one in the third. D- draft grade. Would be an F except they got a steal in the fourth round with that cornerback. The above is only a slight exaggeration of the reviews and grades for the Falcons draft. And I love it. On offense, Arthur Smith is establishing an IDENTITY. He doesn't care that the whole world knows his game plan. Atlanta is going to run the ball. Then they'll run it some more. And then for a change of pace, they'll run. As a rookie last season, Tyler Allgeier wasn't even active for the season opener (a costly mistake on Atlanta's part). He only became a starter for the final seven games of the season. He still racked up over 1000 rushing yards and a 4.93 average. He's now the #2 RB in Atlanta's stable. And the Falcons still have Cordarrelle Patterson and speedster Avery Williams as utility players. When he returns from injury (he might begin the season on PUP status), Caleb Huntley adds another powerhouse RB to the group. The Falcons added Syracuse tackle Matthew Bergeron, who will slot in at left guard. Bergeron was touted as one of the best run blockers of this draft class. The main knock on him seems to be a vulnerability to inside/outside combination moves at tackle. That won't apply at left guard. For those who like the newer metrics, Bergeron racks up a RAS score of 9.82: RASRAS Information At WR, Drake London is a rock solid blocker for the run game. Free agent signing Mack Hollins is one of the better run blocking receivers in the league. KhaDarel Hodge made the roster last year for his special teams skills and his run blocking ability. TE Kyle Pitts worked all of last offseason to upgrade his blocking skills. Jonnu Smith is a solid blocker. Third TE Parker Hesse is a battle tank who doubles as a fullback. The entire offense is built around the run. Even the quarterback. For anyone who doesn't think Desmond Ridder is good enough to be a starting QB, keep in mind one particular skill: he can turn around and hand the ball to Bijan Robinson or Tyler Allgeier as well as any quarterback in the league. And... he can run the ball. He had 2169 rushing yards with 28 touchdowns at Cincinnati. More fodder for fans of the new metrics: But can he throw the ball? He took over as the starter for the final four games of the season. He showed improvement with each consecutive game. He also didn't have one of his best weapons (Kyle Pitts) available, while another (Cordarrelle Patterson) was somewhat limited. In his last two starts, he completed 38 of 56 (67.8%) pass attempts for 393 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. And he certainly showed enough poise for the NFL game. For his 4 starts, he had a combined QB passer rating of 112.9 on third down pass attempts. His career is off to a pretty good start. Plain and simple, Atlanta is going old school on offense. They have established that identity. They will smash you in the mouth. They will use the run to set up the pass, but they'd prefer to just keep pounding it on the ground. When they do opt to throw, they'll have Drake London and Kyle Pitts as the top two receiving targets, joined by speedy slot receiver Scotty Miller, utility WR/RB Cordarrelle Patterson, second TE Jonnu Smith, and WR #2 Mack Hollins. Bijan Robinson will be part of that attack as well. He had 314 receiving yards of his own last year. And if the pass isn't there, the QB has 4.52 speed to take off and pick up the first down on his own on the ground.
What are your thought on the offensive-line which is going to make or break the run game and pass protection for Ridder? Is it at primo level? Is it deep enough? I remember a season many ions ago where the Vikings marched out the same O-line all season... no substantial injuries to speak of and they gelled, progressed and got in a groove that was something to behold. Hopefully Atlanta can be this lucky and I think that would lead to a very dominating offense with all those skilled athletic types touching the football.
Lindstrom and McGary have played together on the right side of the line for four years now. Lindstrom is a beast all around, and McGary is a beast at run blocking though his pass protection is still inconsistent. Left guard had been a weak point for several years. Drafting Bergeron should fix that in a hurry. Jake Matthews is solid at left tackle. The two youngsters Matt Hennessy and Drew Dalman have battled for the starting center job for the last two years. Hennessy won it in 2021 but struggled (though it didn't help that LG next to him was an even weaker point in the line). Dalman won it last year. Hennessy did end up filling in for a few games at left guard and was the leading candidate in-house until Bergeron was drafted. But Dalman is now entering his third year, Hennessy his fourth, and they have Ryan Neuzil pushing them both along with the new seventh rounder (who never played center in college, so I'm skeptical). So... run right = solid blocking. Run left = solid blocking. Run up the middle = with a fullback leading the way, competent blocking at the very least.
