The Falcons addressed their offensive line with their first-round picks. There are still a lot of holes on the roster, though. As Atlanta learned the hard way last season, injuries can expose your depth at key spots in a painful way. They’ll have to plug several holes before this draft ends.
With seven picks on the final day of the draft, the Falcons need to answer the following four questions:
What will they do to improve the pass rush?
The Falcons have a lot of one-year deals signed for defensive tackle and defensive end depth, but where is the long-term guy? Where are the players who’ll be able to create pressure on the interior next to Grady Jarrett or on the edge with Takk McKinley? If coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff don’t add more pass rushing firepower on Saturday, it could endanger their jobs.
Is the offensive line rebuild complete?
After signing a couple of guards in free agency in Jamon Brown and James Carpenter adding a pair of first-round picks Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary, Atlanta’s offensive line rebuild might be finished. However, there is still a question of depth. The Falcons could choose to go all out for the unit this year and add another prospect. They have no viable backup for Alex Mack on the roster, for one.
What about help at cornerback?
Outside of Isaiah Oliver, Damontae Kazee and Desmond Trufant, no one on the Falcons’ roster at cornerback is expected to return after 2019. Adding two or even three DBs on Day 3 could make a lot of sense. There are a lot of tall, long options available. Taking one of them plus a slot corner to help replace Brian Poole isn’t a bad idea.
Who will be the team’s new return specialist?
Kenjon Barner was signed in free agency to compete with a re-signed Justin Hardy for the returner role. However, the Falcons should look into some of the speedy wide receivers and running backs leftover to see if one of them could wind up being the return specialist they haven’t had since Devin Hester in 2015. Who is that guy going to be?
