Atlanta Falcons, Raheem Morris Place 'Definite Priority' on Pass Rushers in NFL Draft

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot spoke at length about the team's need to strengthen a pass rush that took considerable strides last season.

Raheem Morris knows.

He knows about the Atlanta Falcons' long-fought battle against fielding a strong pass rush. He knows about the variety of solutions that exist, and the avenues with which such answers can be received.

Now, the Falcons' 47-year-old head coach is determined to marry the two together.

"I think that's a definite priority for us just based on our history," Morris said March 26 at the annual league meetings. "I think you want to go out and add pass rushers almost every single year. I don't know as long as I'm the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons if I'll ever sit here and say I don't want to add one of those guys."

Atlanta's pass rush is in a better place than it was when Morris left the organization following the 2020 season. The Falcons ranked No. 23 in the league in sacks with 29 and were led by middle linebacker Deion Jones, who had 4.5 takedowns.

Matters worsened over the following two years, as Atlanta ranked last and second-to-last in sacks in 2021 and 2022, respectively, compiling 39 total.

Feb 5, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; Raheem Morris address the media after being introduced as the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

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But the Falcons eclipsed that mark in 2023 alone, finishing No. 21 league-wide with 42 sacks. Then-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen's controlled chaos blitz packages helped create pressure, and Atlanta received at least 6.5 sacks apiece from veteran defensive ends Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree.

However, Nielsen is gone, accepting the same role with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Campbell and Dupree both remain unsigned on the free agency market.

New defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake is inheriting a pass rush led by its interior, where Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata form a disruptive duo. Jarrett and Onyemata combined for 24 quarterback hits and 5.5 sacks in 22 appearances last season, each battling injuries at various points, including a torn ACL from Jarrett in Week 8.

The Falcons also boast an intriguing duo of ascending edge rushers in Arnold Ebiketie, who was third on the team with six sacks last season, and Zach Harrison, who had three sacks and four tackles for loss in his final three games.

Then, there's veteran outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter and fourth-year defensive tackle Ta'Quon Graham, each of whom saw their roles decline in 2023 but have been productive in spurts over the past few seasons.

Jarrett is the only familiar face in the front seven for Morris - which is largely for the better. And yet, he's steadfast on keeping the unit's arrow pointing upward.

"I think you've got to continuously add those guys every single year," Morris said. "It's just what our game has become at this point. All you guys want to see yards and I want to stop them. The way you stop those guys is up front and as we continue to add those guys to the framework, I think that will always help us."

Morris made it abundantly clear the Falcons intend on adding a player up front. So did general manager Terry Fontenot.

"It's premier," Fontenot said March 26 at the annual league meetings. "You always want pressure players, whether it's an outside linebacker, whether it's a defensive tackle or defensive end, you always want to continue to add pressure players. It's a premium position.

"And then you always want to have the big dudes that can stop the run, too, so you can get yourself in positions to rush."

Fontenot said such players can come from a lot of different areas, and his mind first went to the NFL Draft, citing how impactful pass rushers can be found early, middle and late in the event - something particularly familiar to Morris.

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris during the NFL Scouting

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Last year, Morris, who was the Los Angeles Rams' defensive coordinator, watched as a pair of third-round picks in defensive tackle Kobie Turner and outside linebacker Byron Young recorded nine and eight sacks, respectively.

Turner led the Rams in sacks. Young was tied for second - with 10-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

And for Morris, opportunity exists to replicate the results this year in Atlanta.

"The depth in the draft really provides you some real good opportunities to add people and pieces," Morris said. "Who knew Byron Young would turn into what he did for the Rams? Who knew Kobie Turner would turn into what he did last year for us?"

This particular draft class is deep, Morris said, and there's considerable internal optimism that Atlanta can secure a legitimate pass rusher beyond the first round, if needed.

"I think you got depth in all areas of the draft," Morris said. "You got first round talent out there, you got second and third round talent, you got the last day of the draft talent. And I think that provides a lot of hope to be able to go up there and add to your football team and some of the areas of need that you may have."

The Falcons have been commonly tied to several premiere pass rushers with the No. 8 overall selection, including Alabama's Dallas Turner, UCLA's Laiatu Latu and Florida State's Jared Verse.

Fontenot said he's filled with confidence in Morris, sparked by his particularly stout tutelage of Turner and Young in Los Angeles, and the Falcons' scouting department to get it right.

As Morris said, the draft is deep with pass rushers - but what will ultimately make Atlanta's decision is fit, not talent.

"I think the edge rushers are well known and well documented right now, what they can do," Morris said. "It's about how they fit with us and some of the stuff that they can do with us and how they'll be able to be a part of our football team.

"But I'm really excited with the opportunity to add some of those type of people at some point in the draft. And when that happens, you never know, because you don't predict those things."

The Falcons stack their board by placing players in buckets - or ranges - where the team feels comfortable taking the player.

Some teams prefer specific builds or skill sets with their pass rushers. Under Morris, the Falcons don't appear poised to be one of them.

Morris pointed to his first year in Los Angeles, when the team traded for Von Miller halfway through the season. On the other side of Miller was Leonard Floyd, who brought the effort, energy and competitive edge to complement Miller's athleticism and nuance.

Miller and Floyd moved and executed differently, but they combined for 14.5 sacks in 25 games before helping lead the Rams to the Super Bowl.

The lesson from this, Morris said, is focusing on what he, as a coach, can do with the player as opposed to what he can't do. He's trying to find players who he can do certain things and fit his idea for this era of Falcons.

And that idea comes in all shapes and sizes.

"There's so many different types, and I've worked with them all," Morris said. "I worked with the power rushers [and] the speed rushers. The guys that bring that speed to power rush and have some counters off of it is the guy that's probably the most valuable."

Again, Morris knows.

He knows the Falcons have a glaring need for exterior pass rush. He knows they have just under $6 million in cap space and still have to sign the draft class.

And he knows that Atlanta, which has long lacked a consistently dominant pass rusher, is ready to find one.

But perhaps most importantly, he knows what he has, what he doesn't have and what he can mold the Falcons' defensive line into - and he's ready to attack it come April 25.

"I know we don't have Aaron Donald, but when you get guys like a Grady and a David inside, and the juice that they bring, and you add some young presences around them, or some potential older veterans, who knows, man," Morris said.

"You can get a pretty special D-Line. I look forward to adding people to it."