Atlanta went into the 2018 draft with Grady Jarrett as the only true ready-to-play DT on the roster. The team did sign two free agents, but both are essentially practice squad prospects. (Garrison Smith did get called up to Seattle's roster and had some playing time. But note that the Seahawks did NOT bring him back for 2018.) Defensive end Jack Crawford can move inside in pass rush situations. Offensive lineman Ben Garland can also flip sides and play defensive tackle when needed. But the Falcons like to play a heavy rotation on the d-line, and the DT group was - and still is - the elephant in the room. So they haven't fully addressed that position yet. But there are still quite a few free agent options out there. So if we assume that Dan Quinn has an idea of what he wants to do on defense, oh wow, did this team ever give us some things to think about on offense. Calvin Ridley is an immediate deep threat receiver. Throw him in a 3-WR formation with all-around beast Julio Jones and solid possession receiver Mohamed Sanu, and you have a matchup nightmare waiting to happen regardless of who is on the field at tight end. Rather than comparing it to last year or the 2016 group, start by comparing it to the offense in 2012, when the Falcons went 13-3 and were the #1 seed in the NFC. That group had a receiving trio of Roddy White, Julio Jones and tight end Tony Gonzalez. The catch is that former Pro Bowl fullback Ovie Mughelli had been injured in 2011 and was off the roster in 2012, while running back Michael Turner transformed from "The Burner" to "Fat Elvis". Meanwhile, the offensive line struggled with the likes of Garrett Reynolds and Peter Konz. Joe Hawley and Mike Johnson were solid backups, but the rest of the supporting group was subpar. This year's offense already looks better all around than that group. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman are both threats running and receiving. Fourth rounder Ito Smith should be an upgrade over Terron Ward as the #3. And it looks like the team might break away from the traditional fullback, as one of the prime undrafted free agents this year is Boise State tight end Jake Roh, possibly the best H-back candidate in this year's draft class. Free agent lineman Brandon Fusco appears likely to take over the starting right guard role, which improves the depth by dropping Wes Schweitzer (who now has 16 regular season and 2 postseason starts) to a reserve role. With Ty Sambreilo, Ben Garland, Austin Pasztor and last year's fourth rounder Sean Harlow also on board, this is a very strong and deep reserve group. Austin Hooper is only in his third season at tight end. He still has plenty of upside, and the coaching staff firmly believes in last year's fifth rounder Eric Saubert, though the rest of us have seen very little of him on the field. So... two draft picks and one UDFA signing later, this offense is ready to rock and roll. And how does it compare to 2016 and 2017? At the moment (barring injuries), I'd say the offensive line is likely to be better this year. I'd say the wide receiver group is as deep, though I'm not sure if the depth players are better now or were better in 2016. The biggest question will be whether offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will be able to take advantage of the weapons at his disposal more effectively this year than in 2017. Fans in Atlanta are down on him, but two important points come to mind. First, Kyle Shanahan was equally ineffective at times in his first season with the group in 2015. And second, Sark wasn't the only rookie coach on offense last year. He had to do double duty working with the quarterback group, as the team also had a rookie QB coach. That coach has returned to the college ranks and has been replace by veteran Greg Knapp (a former Falcons offensive coordinator himself). This year truly will be the litmus test for Sarkisian, however. If he can't turn it on with THIS group, he needs to give it up and return to the college ranks himself.
