Atlanta Falcons – Overall Defense
During the 2019 season, the Atlanta Falcons’ defense ranked 10th in the NFL for most points allowed and were among the teams with the least number of sacks. Their defense was a major reason they could not win many games last season and that could be the case again in 2020.
During the offseason, the who desperately needed pass rush help decided not to bring back defensive end Vic Beasley, who in his 60 career games, 156 tackles, 37.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, and two touchdowns. They waived starting cornerback Desmond Trufant to save roughly $5 million in cap space, many considered to be one of the top cornerbacks in the league a few years ago.
During free agency, the Falcons signed pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. but this is really a lateral move for the team. Fowler has only started in 21 of the 63 career games he’s appeared in, 27.5 sacks in those 63 games, and 11.5 sack came during this past season with the Los Angeles Rams, who have one of the top pass-rushing front-seven groups in the NFL.
During the draft, the Falcons drafted cornerback A.J. Terrell in the first round, who is a good football player but there are questions about his size and his ability to stop top wide receivers. There is also always a general question surrounding rookies when it comes to immediate impact.
The Falcons did little to improve their defense over last season and it may have gotten even worse. The NFC South is a division that already featured impressive offenses and just added talents like Emmanuel Sanders, Robby Anderson, Rob Gronkowski, and Tom Brady.
