The Falcons have been more active in free agency this year than usual. While they’ve mostly been low-level signings, Atlanta has plugged several holes and brought back a couple of key role players.
Here’s our grades for each of the team’s moves over the last month.
Re-signed: WR Justin Hardy
Hardy is not a name at his position and he won’t be playing in a Pro Bowl anytime soon. That doesn’t mean he’s not a valuable piece of Atlanta’s roster. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better No. 4 wide receiver around the NFL, especially one making just $805,000 in base salary this year. Hardy is also a core special teams player.
Grade: B
Re-signed: LB/S Kemal Ishmael
Speaking of special teams, nobody was more crucial in that phase of the game last season than Ishmael. He led the Falcons by playing 329 special teams snaps in 2018, nearly 75 percent of the team’s total. Ishmael also offers depth at both the linebacker and safety positions, all for the same price-tag as Hardy.
Grade: A
Signed: DE Adrian Clayborn
Clayborn may have spent last season playing for the enemy, but all is forgiven. After leading Atlanta in sacks in 2017, he had an excellent year in New England, leading all NFL edge defenders in pressure rate at 17.3 percent including the playoffs. That the Falcons are getting him for just $2 million qualifies as absolute highway robbery.
Grade: A+
Signed: S Chris Cooper, S Afolabi Laguda
Last week the Falcons signed both of these former undrafted free agents at the same time. While the team clearly needs to add more depth behind starting safeties Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal, giving them both two-year deals is baffling. This is the kind of fringe roster move you normally see in June or July. These two transactions don’t portend well for whatever coach Dan Quinn has in mind for the position.
Grade: C-
Signed: DT Tyeler Davison
The Falcons looked to be heading into the 2019 NFL draft perilously thin along their defensive line. Adding Clayborn and then Davison gives them some breathing room and lets off some pressure to find two difference-makers in this class. Davison was a three-year starter for the Saints and should at least be an upgrade over what Terrell McClain offered last season.
Grade: B
Signed: DE Chris Odom
Odom showed flashes of potential the last time he was in Atlanta. After a strong preseason, the Falcons put him on their practice squad but he didn’t last long there. He went on to play seven games for the Packers in 2017 before getting cut in 2018 and going to the AAF’s Salt Lake Stallions. This move just happened on Monday, so we don’t have any financial information as of yet. Odom signed a two-year deal.
Grade: Incomplete
Signed: OL John Wetzel
Thanks to injuries, Wetzel played just about every offensive line spot there is over the last three seasons with the Cardinals. For some reference, he’s not ordinarily a starter but he wound up getting 24 starts since 2016 nonetheless. It’s not clear what role the Falcons have in mind for Wetzel or how much he’ll earn at this time.
Grade: Incomplete
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