The Falcons made their final cuts to get their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday, and while it’s an accomplishment to even make an NFL roster, don’t expect it to remain the same for very long. Head coach Arthur Smith even said himself that the roster could look different in a week from now
So which positions on Atlanta’s current 53-man roster still need the most help?
Offensive line
The offensive line will always be an area of concern until the unit can prove otherwise. The Falcons have already appeared to replace Jalen Mayfield in the starting lineup, but we won’t really know until we see meaningful snaps during the regular season. Elijah Wilkinson looks to have won the job over Mayfield, but judging him based on preseason snaps is ill-advised.
Additionally, there are still concerns over the center role and how much, if any, improvement will we see from right tackle Kaleb McGary after the Falcons opted not to exercise his fifth-year option. As a unit, a more solidified campaign can truly elevate the capabilities of the offense and what Arthur Smith can do.
Defensive line
The defensive line also has its areas of concern. Once you get past Grady Jarrett, the lack of depth shows itself and poses a big issue when rotating players with Grady Jarrett. The team has decided to retain Marlon Davidson, Ta’Quon Graham, Timmy Horne, and Anthony Rush.
Expect another season of below-average defensive line play with these guys rotating in. The hope here is that Jarrett garners a lot of attention from opposing offenses and this frees up the others to make an impact.
Wide receiver
The receiver position was a very big problem for the offense last season, even before Calvin Ridley stepped away for personal reasons. Again, this position could be a concern with no Ridley again for 2022 (season-long suspension), and early injuries to Bryan Edwards and Drake London. These injuries were hailed as minor, but Edwards has an injury history from a season ago, and we have yet to see London outside of his one catch from the first game.
We don’t really know what we’re getting with this group. How will both Jared Bernhardt and KhaDarel Hodge fare this season when going up against better competition?
Tight end
We know what the Falcons have in Kyle Pitts, who is arguably the best overall athlete on the team and undoubtedly the number one player on offense. However, once you get past Pitts, that’s where the questions start coming in. The Falcons opted to keep both Parker Hesse and Feleipe Franks over former Titan players in MyCole Pruitt and Anthony Firkser, who are both more accomplished players than the ones retained on offense.
If for some reason, the Falcons are without Pitts for a number of games, there is a noticeable drop off from a season ago since the team is without Hayden Hurst, who was a really solid backup option.
