The Atlanta Falcons are a team that is flying under the radar this offseason. They entered the offseason with a ton of cap space, which they used to their advantage in free agency. Jessie Bates III was their biggest acquisition, but far from the only one.
Bud Dupree, David Onyemata, Calais Campbell, Kaden Elliss, Jeff Okudah and Mike Hughes will all be joining Bates on a revamped Falcons’ defense. For the first time in what feels like a while, star defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is finally going to get some help.
Jarrett has remained a steady, stout defender anchoring the middle of the Falcons’ defensive line since being selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He believes this is a team ready to take that next step and has issued a warning to the rest of the teams in the NFC South who will be trying to slow them down.
“We ain’t going out there just to lay down to nobody,” star defensive tackle Grady Jarrett told SiriusXM NFL Radio this week. “To me, in my eyes, we handle our business, we’re gonna be where we want to be in the end. You wanna win the division, you want to get to the postseason, you want to compete for championships. And that’s what we’re focused on is being the best us we can be, and that’s going to get us to where we need to be. As far as how everybody else goes in the division, however it played out, I think we want to be the best us that we can be, whether whoever is in the division, regardless of what any other team got going on.” (H/T Kevin Patra of NFL.com)
The biggest question mark for the Falcons heading into the 2023 season is Desmond Ridder as the starting quarterback. Despite multiple veterans being made available this offseason, Atlanta opted to stick with the 2023 third-round pick.
It was a decision that drew plenty of criticism, as analysts believe the Falcons’ outlook would be improved exponentially with someone such as Derek Carr, who signed with the New Orleans Saints, or Lamar Jackson under center. But, Jarrett doesn’t want to hear any of that noise and is confident in Ridder getting the job done.
“One word to describe him, I’d say confident,” Jarrett said of Ridder. “Confident because it seems like the noise around him hasn’t affected him. Just the negative energy that the people given towards the decision that the team has made to go with him. He’s so confident of the things that he’s gonna be able to do and we confident in him the things that we know he can achieve ’cause he showed the work day in and day out. That’s how you want your quarterback, your leader to be, unscathed and just the guy who’s just locked in. I think confident is gonna be a great word ’cause he’s gonna have the swagger and the talent and everything to match, so I’d definitely say he’s confident.”
If Ridder can live up to the expectations that Jarrett and others in the organization have for him, the Falcons are going to surprise a lot of people this season. He is surrounded by an excellent group of young playmakers in tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson, all top-10 picks from the last three years.
