PALM BEACH, Fla. — Kirk Cousins wasn’t the only Atlanta Falcons-related topic discussed this week at the NFL’s annual meeting. It was only the starting point.
The possibility of selecting an offensive player early in the draft (yes, really), job security issues, Trey Hendrickson and Grady Jarrett — and plenty of other things — came up, too, so here’s what I’m hearing after the league meeting.
Offensive tackle is in play
Despite team owner Arthur Blank saying the emphasis of the team’s draft “will certainly” be on defensive players, don’t rule out the Falcons using one of their first two picks on an offensive player — specifically a tackle. They currently have 11-year veteran Jake Matthews at left tackle and six-year veteran Kaleb McGary at right tackle, which is now the blindside blocking position because starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is left-handed.
Coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot attended a private workout with Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks, and both were in attendance at Ohio State’s recent pro day, where they closely watched Buckeyes tackles Josh Simmons and Donovan Jackson. Simmons, who is ranked 17th on Dane Brugler’s most recent Big Board, and Banks, who is ranked 22nd, likely would require a first-round selection. The Falcons hold the No. 15 pick but have expressed interest in trading down in the first round to add additional picks. Jackson, who is 34th on Brugler’s Big Board, could be available in the second round, where Atlanta picks 46th.
The Falcons have five picks in the draft, which begins April 24. They have used their last four first-round picks on offensive players, last drafting a defender in the first round in 2020 when they took cornerback A.J. Terrell 16th. Considering the state of their defense, a fifth straight offensive first-rounder would have seemed virtually impossible last week, but the talk here suggested it might not be.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank, left, speaking with team CEO Rich McKay, doesn’t believe NFL should stand for Not For Long. (Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
Blank disappointed but favors ‘sustainability’
Blank is not a believer in “hot seats,” he said this week, so it’s probably not useful to go into the season wondering whether Fontenot, who is entering his fifth draft in charge of the team’s personnel department, or even Morris, who is entering Year 2, need to be thinking about their job status.
“Every year for everybody is a crucial year. People say the NFL is Not For Long, but I don’t believe in that,” Blank said. “I fundamentally do believe, and I want to make this clear, the most successful teams in the National Football League … have long-term sustainability between the coaches and the general managers and usually the right kind of quarterbacks. You want to have sustained leadership for as long as it makes sense to do that.”
The Falcons are 29-39 since Fontenot was hired in 2021 and finished 8-9 last year in Morris’ first season. Blank said he made his displeasure with the 2024 season, in which Atlanta lost six of its last eight games, clear to Fontenot and Morris.
“Raheem certainly understands that I was disappointed. Terry certainly understands that I was disappointed. It wasn’t a long conversation, but it was a very clear conversation,” the owner said.
Trey Hendrickson probably a pipe dream
Don’t expect the Cincinnati Bengals to trade pass rusher Trey Hendrickson to the Falcons. He’s probably not going to get traded anywhere, in fact. The four-time Pro Bowler who has had 17 1/2 sacks in each of the last two seasons has requested a trade, but the Bengals don’t appear eager to comply. Hendrickson is under contract through the upcoming season and will count $18.6 million against the salary cap this season.
Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn doesn’t seem to be sympathetic to Hendrickson’s desire for a much bigger deal.
“I think he should be happy at certain rates that maybe he doesn’t think he’d be happy at,” she told reporters at the annual meeting. “I think some of it is on him to be happy at some point, and if he’s not, you know, that’s what holds it up sometimes. So, you know, it takes him to say yes to something, and also, we have all the respect in the world for him. He’s been a great player. We’re happy to have him. And so maybe we’ll find a way to get something to work.”
The Bengals’ current asking price for Hendrickson includes a first-round draft pick, according to a league source. That, combined with Hendrickson’s desire for a contract worth an average of $30 million a year, puts the Falcons out of the running, even if Cincinnati would be serious about a deal. If the asking price comes down, things could change, but that doesn’t seem likely right now.
Slow free agency period no surprise
The Falcons knew their free-agency shopping list was going to have to be limited coming into the offseason because of financial constraints, Morris said.
“It’s always hard to have back-to-back big years in free agency,” he said. “You have to have a realistic approach to what you want to do. When you have the money allocated where we have it, there are going to be some harder things you have to do.”
The Falcons are 25th in the league in salary-cap space, with $11.9 million available, according to Spotrac. That’s enough to sign their upcoming draft class with a little left over to allow some flexibility for in-season moves.
“We picked up as many players as we could, maybe we picked up some good ones,” Blank said. “I feel like we did a really good job as much as we could.”
Cross training at cornerback
The Falcons believe Mike Hughes can play outside cornerback or the nickel spot, and they plan to audition Clark Phillips III at nickelback this offseason to see if he has the same type of versatility, Morris said. Atlanta has not re-signed last year’s starting nickel, Dee Alford, and is likely to be on the lookout for another cornerback in the draft. However, if none of the Falcons’ preferred targets become available to them during the draft, having Hughes and Phillips both trained at nickel will at least give them options at the two starting outside spots (A.J. Terrell will man the other) and nickel.
Goodbye to Grady
Morris called the Falcons’ release of defensive tackle Grady Jarrett “one of the tougher decisions” of the offseason. Morris declined to go into details about the negotiations for a new deal that eventually fell through, leading to Jarrett’s release.
“We just couldn’t come to an agreement, and that was very tough,” Morris said. “It would be far-fetched for me to say Grady wanted to leave. It’s one of those things where we couldn’t reach a deal, but no hard feelings from me or Grady. Definitely going to be missed. I can’t say enough positive things about Grady.”
Blank spoke to Jarrett and his mother, Elisha Jarrett, after Jarrett’s release.
“Since Grady left, I carry an extra handkerchief with me, and I do this a lot,” Blank said, mimicking wiping tears from his eyes. “It was very painful. You end up with emotional attachments to almost all the players. Someone like Grady becomes a version of another child.”
Jarrett, a fifth-round pick in 2015, played 10 years for the Falcons, accumulating 36 1/2 sacks and being selected to two Pro Bowls. He quickly signed with the Chicago Bears after his release.
“You are not going to find anybody who gave more to the team,” Blank said. “There’s no question that Grady was an anchor to our defense for a very long time, physically and emotionally, not just the defense but the entire locker room. In these kinds of situations, you have to put emotions aside as best you can and make the best decision for the franchise.”
Is the defense better?
Morris is confident Atlanta’s defense will be better in 2025 despite its limited offseason additions. The Falcons finished 25th in the league in defensive EPA (minus-4.1 per 100 snaps) and 20th in yards per play allowed (5.5), according to TruMedia. They signed three expected defensive starters in free agency — edge rusher Leonard Floyd, linebacker Divine Deablo and safety Jordan Fuller — and likely will add at least one edge rusher in the draft. Morris replaced former defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake with Jeff Ulbrich in the offseason.
“I have so much confidence in the coaching and the guys that we’ve got, guys that are getting better this year, guys who are coming back from injuries,” Morris said. “Last year’s draft class is going to be really helpful in us getting better. I’m really excited about those guys. You make your biggest jump the second year. Definitely confident we can be much better on that side of the ball.”
Atlanta used second-, third- and fourth-round picks on defensive players in 2024 but got only a combined 167 snaps from those players last season. Edge rusher Bralen Trice suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, while defensive tackles Ruke Orhorhoro and Brandon Dorlus saw limited playing time behind veteran defensive linemen.
Ryan Neuzil will have competition
Ryan Neuzil isn’t a member of the Falcons at the moment, but that hasn’t stopped Morris from penciling him in as the starting center this year. Neuzil is a restricted free agent, and Atlanta has placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on him, meaning it can match any team’s offer.
“You are going to try to make it as competitive as you can at every position, but definitely feel confident in Neuzil,” Morris said. “He played at a high level last year. We feel really good about what he’s going to do.”
Neuzil has started 12 games at center in the last two years while Drew Dalman sat out with injuries. Atlanta also will give Jovaughn Gwyn, a seventh-round pick in 2023, a chance to compete for the starting center spot.
(Top photo of Raheem Morris: Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)