The Athletic Gives Surprising Grade for Falcons' Addition of Tagovailoa, Hooper

The Atlanta Falcons were very busy on the first day of the early negotiation window, adding eight new players to their roster, including a pair of defensive players, two special teamers (kicker and punter), and four offensive players.

Daniel Popper and Mike Jones of The Athletic ranked the top 150 free agents, but followed up with that by rating the moves each of those players made. The Falcons signed a pair of those guys, and these two writers were pleased with the overall fit between the player and team.

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The first player they rated was the signing of tight end Austin Hooper, giving the tight end an ‘A’ after agreeing to return to his former team.

“Hooper is still a very effective run blocker who can control the C-gap against edge rushers. This past season, during a Super Bowl run with the Patriots, Hooper showed he can overwhelm defensive backs and linebackers in the run game as a one-on-one blocker. Hooper was drafted by Atlanta in 2016 and spent his first four seasons there. This is a great value deal for the Falcons as new coach Kevin Stefanski tries to establish his run game,” Popper wrote.

Hooper’s addition is a budget-friendly agreement ($3.25 million) that makes a lot of sense for the Falcons. The 31-year-old tight end has been a steady depth player over the last several years and is an ideal second receiving tight end to play alongside Kyle Pitts Sr. when Stefanski uses his favorite 12-personnel groupings.

The second addition of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa stole headlines, but it is not expected to cost the Falcons much money.

“The Falcons are hoping that Michael Penix Jr. can make it back from a torn ACL in time for the season opener, but they have added Tagovailoa as an insurance policy, and possibly as competition. There are questions about Penix’s durability, but that’s also the case with Tagovailoa, who has had at least three documented concussions in his NFL career. Last season saw Tagovailoa experience a steep drop-off in effectiveness as he completed just 67.7 percent of his passes while throwing 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. But some talent evaluators still view Tagovailoa, who in 2023 led the league in passing yards (4,624) and also led the NFL in completion percentage in 2024 (72.9) as a capable starter. Kevin Stefanski will have a pair of lefties to work with in Penix and Tagovailoa, and Tua comes at an affordable rate with the Dolphins on the hook for the bulk of his contract,” Jones wrote.

Tagovailoa should not be viewed as a new starter in Atlanta. Rather, he should be considered a player who could start. His floor is an elite backup player, but there is still enough upside that makes the $1.3 million price tag more than worth a shot.

He will have the chance to come in and compete for the job with Michael Penix Jr., and it is a low-risk move for the Falcons.

Former Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier, who signed a new deal with the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, also landed on this list. He received a ‘B+’ after landing with his new team.

While the flurry came hot and heavy, these moves will not become official until 4 p.m. on Wednesday. After that, free agency has technically begun, and the league year is underway.

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