NFL Power Rankings: Post-NFL Draft Edition
By Jon Dove
2. Atlanta Falcons
Key Additions: Jack Crawford, Dontari Poe, Takkarist McKinley and Duke Riley
Key Losses: Patrick DiMarco
Overall, the Falcons had a pretty quite offseason. Their biggest additions came along the defensive line with Dontari Poe and Takkarist McKinley expected to have major roles. McKinley has the speed to get after the quarterback and take some pressure off of Vic Beasley.
Poe gives them depth at the defensive tackle position which was exposed towards the end of the Super Bowl. He still has tons of talent, but he needs to play with more consistency in order to earn a long-term contract next offseason.
It was a bit of a surprise that the Falcons didn’t add some offensive line depth at some point in the offseason. They are hoping that Hugh Thornton can step in and replace the retired Chris Chester.
The key to their success will be the steady play of the offense and improvement from the younger athletes on defense.
Keanu Neal, Deion Jones and Grady Jarrett are the three defenders they will be asking to make the biggest improvement. They are also counting on Desmond Trufant returning to full health and stabilizing the back-end of the defense.