Youth Movement: How Falcons Can Tweak Talent Around 36-Year-Old Matt Ryan?
Arthur Smith's desired identity is no secret.
The Atlanta Falcons coach, who spent 10 years with the Tennessee Titans, wants to establish the run and create an offense that he feels can work and ultimately win games. Before the start of the 2021 season, Smith stated “running the ball will be important every week”.
But to do so, the Falcons have to reshape their running back depth chart and get younger at that position. For context, Mike Davis, 29, and Cordelle Patterson, 30, were the Falcons' top two rushing options.
Before his inaugural season with the Falcons, Smiths’ previous five seasons with the Titans all ended with the team ranked top 10 in rushing. This aided the Titans to be in the top half of wins in the NFL.
With limited cap space, the Falcons can benefit from drafting Florida's Dameon Pierce. He had a good Senior Bowl week, and was a part of the Gators running back group that didn’t have featured back. He has fresh legs, with not that many carries in his collegiate career. Pierce runs hard, an element that Smith would love coming from Tennessee with Derrick Henry, with a good YPC in his college career. In Pierce’s final year at Florida, he rushed for 574 yards on 100 carries.
Another position that needs to be addressed is the wide receiver position. Calvin Ridley's relationship with the team had deteriorated in the beginning stages of the season and has now made it clear he does not plan to return to the ball club for the 2022 season. While Atlanta works to find a trade partner, filling that void is important for a team that struggled with consistency at wideout.
With so many pressing issues on both sides of the ball, Velus Jones, out of Tennessee, could be a late-round steal for the Falcons. The 6-0 Jones is another Senior Bowl player that ended the week with some buzz. Jones caught all four of his targets and posted a team-best 53 yards, including a 32-yard reception in the all-star game. As a receiver, Jones has quick feet which play into winning at the line of scrimmage with his quick release. In his final year at Tennessee, Jones accounted for 807 yards on 62 receptions with seven touchdowns.
These two talented players can help Atlanta and Smith create depth, and build on the foundation from the 2021 year by getting younger and more explosive.
