Obviously the media hype is all about Kirk Cousins. But that's not a roster change yet, as he's still a Falcon. The big stuff is that starters Grady Jarrett, Drew Dalman, and a bunch of other players are gone. Nothing new there for the defense... another effing year, another effing defensive coordinator, another effing scheme change, more effing roster churn. But beyond that brief rant, that's a whole separate post on its own. For now let's take a peek at what the team has done with the position groups on offense... QB: Cousins is still here, and Michael Penix is still tagged as the starter. If anyone cares, we do have Emory Jones for the scout team but no legit number two in place yet if in fact a Cousins trade does happen. (I've noted elsewhere that my choice would be to bring back Desmond Ridder. He'd be dirt cheap, he still has tremendous upside potential, and he has the immediate advantage of knowing most of the key players on the offense already.) RB: Avery Williams signed with Philadelphia. That's no loss at all for the Falcons RB group, as he only played the PR/KR role last year. Atlanta already drafted RB Jase McClellan last year to add depth behind Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, and former practice squad RBs Carlos Washington Jr and Elijah Dotson return. Dotson is one of the prospects that I will be most eager to see in camp and preseason. Small but stocky, fast enough (4.53 at pro day), and has solid receiving skills plus return skills. Atlanta signed WR Jamal Agnew to challenge for the PR/KR role, but keep an eye on Dotson as well. OL: Congratulations to center Drew Dalman for getting the sweet free agency contract from the Bears. He's a good guy and deserves the payday. (My wife got to know him, as he frequently volunteered at the local animal shelter. She had no idea he was a football player.) The other player still unsigned is unfortunately Dalman's backup at center, Ryan Neuzil. He has been tendered as an RFA but hasn't officially signed yet. Neuzil's backup should be Jovaughn Gwyn, who was announced as a center when drafted though he mostly played guard for South Carolina. The good news is that if all goes well with retaining Neuzil, everyone else will also be back. Starters Jake Matthews, Matthew Bergeron, Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary, swing tackle Storm Norton, and backup Kyle Hinton all return along with Gwyn. Versatile backup Elijah Wilkinson (who started at left guard for Atlanta before getting hurt a few years ago) also returns to the team, and veteran backup tackle Brandon Parker has also signed on for added depth. WR: Rondale Moore departed in free agency, but it's hard to say that's a loss as he missed the 2024 season after getting hurt in a joint practice with the Dolphins and never played a snap for Atlanta. Meanwhile... Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud and KhaDarel Hodge all return, along with last year's draft pick Casey Washington and top prospect Chris Blair plus other returning hopefuls. Basically no change here except that the prospects now have a year of experience and Penix already has a training camp with everyone in the group. Washington and Blair should be fun to watch in preseason to see how they have progressed from last year. TE: Kyle Pitts is often listed in articles as a likely trade candidate, but he and Charlie Woerner are both still here. The team has signed Teagan Quitoriano to replace Ross Dwelley as the third TE, and former QB converted to TE project Feleipe Franks is back for another shot. Overall, the offense hasn't lost anything at all other than Dalman, and even if something bizarre happens with Neuzil, they do have Gwyn waiting in the wings at center. So for now the big questions are what happens at QB2 if / when Cousins does get traded, whether Pitts does indeed become a trade target, and how well the prospects (Washington, Blair, Dotson, Gwyn) develop over the summer.
