The 2023 Atlanta Falcons aren’t going to look like the 2022 Atlanta Falcons. General manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith are hoping they aren’t going to look like the 2021 Falcons either. Coming off back-to-back 7-10 seasons under Fontenot and Smith, the Falcons spent big on free agents in the offseason for the first time under the current regime. They were also active in the trade market.
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The spending spree has reshaped Atlanta’s depth chart, specifically on defense, where the Falcons brought in safety Jessie Bates III, defensive linemen Calais Campbell and David Onyemata, linebackers Kaden Elliss and Bud Dupree and cornerbacks Jeff Okudah and Mike Hughes. So where does all that leave them heading into the NFL Draft, when the depth chart will change again?
This is the perfect time to check in on the Falcons’ depth chart. Here we’ve added some context with each player’s average value ranking from Pro Football Reference. The ranking uses statistics and awards recognition to assign a numeric value to every season. For context, the highest AV of all time was 27 (LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006). The AV ranking listed first for each player is from last season, and the number in parentheses is that player’s highest single-season AV of his career.
The “should be” category indicates whether a player should be building their dream home in north Georgia, buying a house, renting an apartment or just finding a place to crash for a while by subletting some space from a teammate or a nice old lady in Flowery Branch.
QUARTERBACK
Desmond Ridder
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 3 (3)
Should be: Renting
After starting the final four games of the 2022 season, the second-year pro out of Cincinnati has been handed the reins in Atlanta. The Falcons signed a capable but not threatening backup to give Ridder plenty of space to develop during the 2023 season. In the final four weeks of last season, Ridder’s passer rating on third down (112.9) was sixth in the league and his completion percentage (69 percent) was the best in the league, according to TruMedia.
Taylor Heinicke
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 6 (11)
Should be: Renting
A 25-game starter in the NFL, Heinicke agreed to come to Atlanta as a free agent this offseason with the understanding that he would back up Ridder. He was supposed to be a backup in Washington, too, but ended up starting 24 games there in the last two years and beating the Falcons twice in that time.
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RUNNING BACK
Tyler Allgeier
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 8 (8)
Should be: Buying
After being picked in the fifth round last year, Allgeier set the franchise rookie rushing record with 1,035 yards. In the second half of 2022, he averaged 5.3 yards per carry, the most of any player in the league with more than 100 carries, according to TruMedia, and he averaged 107.8 yards in the final four games of the season, second most in the NFL.
Tyler Allgeier is good at football
📺 FOX || NFL+ pic.twitter.com/Japl40BcZW
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 18, 2022
Cordarrelle Patterson
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 7 (8)
Should be: Renting
Patterson has led the Falcons in touchdowns each of the last two seasons with 11 in 2021 and nine last year, but he’s entering his 10th year in the league. He still has big-play potential, which he proved last season by setting the NFL’s career record for kickoff returns for a touchdown (nine), but Atlanta probably will be careful with his workload with Allgeier around to handle the bulk of the carries.
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WIDE RECEIVER
Drake London
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 9 (9)
Should be: Buying
The Falcons used their first pick last year on London and immediately made him the focus of their passing game. He was third in the league in target percentage (29.3 percent) behind only the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill and the Raiders’ Davante Adams, according to TruMedia. London was third among rookies in receiving yards (866) behind the Jets’ Garrett Wilson and the Saints’ Chris Olave.
Frank Darby
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 0 (0)
Should be: Subletting
A sixth-round draft pick in 2021, Darby has caught one pass each season in Atlanta. He played fewer than 7 percent of the team’s special teams snaps last season, so if he’s going to hang on to his roster spot, it’s going to have to be catching passes.
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WIDE RECEIVER
Mack Hollins
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 7
Should be: Renting
Hollins had a breakout season last year in his fifth NFL campaign, catching 57 passes for 690 yards with the Raiders. His size (6-4, 221) and willingness to run block make him a good fit in Atlanta, where he’s currently the clear No. 2 receiver although he’s on a one-year deal.
KhaDarel Hodge
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 2
Should be: Subletting
Hodge was re-signed to a one-year deal in early April. He caught 13 passes and scored his first NFL touchdown (in a five-year career) last season. His biggest value for the Falcons has come on special teams so far. He led the team with nine special teams tackles last year.
TIGHT END
Kyle Pitts
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 4 (8)
Should be: Building
Pitts missed the final seven games of the 2022 season after surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He has 96 catches for 1,382 yards and three touchdowns since being drafted fourth in the 2021 draft. By all accounts, Pitts’ rehab is on track, and he should be fully available for training camp. The Falcons are expecting a breakout season from Pitts in 2023.
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Feleipe Franks
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 0 (0)
Should be: Subletting
The attempt to transition Franks from college quarterback to NFL tight end is going slowly. He had some flashes during training camp in 2022 but didn’t catch a pass (and had only two targets) in the regular season.
TIGHT END
Jonnu Smith
Years with Falcons: First, trade acquisition
PFR AV: 2 (5)
Should be: Renting
The Falcons sent a seventh-round draft pick to New England to reunite Smith with head coach Arthur Smith, who coached the tight end in Tennessee. The team believes Jonnu Smith, who has 17 touchdowns in six NFL seasons, will be an upgrade over MyCole Pruitt as the complementary tight end to Pitts.
Parker Hesse
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 1 (1)
Should be: Renting
Among non-offensive linemen, Hesse played the fourth-highest percentage of offensive snaps for Atlanta last year, behind only London, Marcus Mariota and Olamide Zaccheaus. Although he had only nine catches, the Falcons value his versatility and football IQ.
LEFT TACKLE
Jake Matthews
Years with Falcons: Nine
PFR AV: 8 (12)
Should be: Building
The No. 6 pick in the 2014 draft, Matthews has started 150 games at left tackle for the Falcons. He is in the second season of a $55 million contract extension.
Germain Ifedi
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 1 (9)
Should be: Renting
A first-round pick by the Seahawks in 2016, Ifedi joined Atlanta before the 202s season and played in all 17 games although exclusively as a reserve.
LEFT GUARD
Matt Hennessy
Years with Falcons: Three
PFR AV: 2 (6)
Should be: Renting
Elijah Wilkinson, who held down this spot for most of the 2022 season, is now a member of the Arizona Cardinals. At this point, the position falls to Hennessy, who started 17 games at center in 2021 and three games at guard last season. Hennessy lost a preseason competition to Drew Dalman to start at center last season and then filled in when Wilkinson was unavailable at guard. He can handle the starting role, but the Falcons would like an upgrade here.
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Jalen Mayfield
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 0 (7)
Should be: Subletting
Drafted in the third round in 2021 to fill this spot, Mayfield struggled as a rookie and then missed 2022 with a back injury. He’s healthy now but remains a long shot to jump back into the starting lineup.
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CENTER
Drew Dalman
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 7 (7)
Should be: Renting
A fourth-round pick in 2021, Dalman supplanted Hennessy at center last year during training camp and started all 17 games there last season.
Ryan Neuzil
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 1 (1)
Should be: Renting
An undrafted free agent, Neuzil played in nine games last season. One of the rare Falcons who Smith regularly refers to by his nickname (Neuz Flash).
RIGHT GUARD
Chris Lindstrom
Years with Falcons: Four
PFR AV: 11 (11)
Should be: Building
The first-round pick from 2019 just signed a five-year extension that will make him the highest-paid guard in the NFL. He has started 55 games for the Falcons.
Jonotthan Harrison
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 0 (6)
Should be: Subletting
Harrison was primarily a practice squad player last season, but he has made 42 NFL starts with the Colts and Jets in a six-year career.
RIGHT TACKLE
Kaleb McGary
Years with Falcons: Four
PFR AV: 8 (8)
Should be: Buying
A first-round draft pick in 2019, McGary has started 62 games at right tackle for Atlanta. McGary signed a three-year extension in the middle of March, but the Falcons have flexibility in the third year of the deal.
Justin Shaffer
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 0 (0)
Should be: Subletting
Drafted in the sixth round in 2021, Shaffer spent all of 2022 on the practice squad. Shaffer was a guard in college but has the size (6-4, 317 pounds) to play tackle in a pinch, and the Falcons don’t have a lot of other good options.
DEFENSIVE END
Calais Campbell
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 7 (16)
Should be: Renting
Campbell will be entering his 16th NFL season, but he believes he still has plenty to give, estimating he can play 60 percent of the defensive snaps for the Falcons this year. His presence on the field (99 career sacks) and in the locker room (2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year) could be huge for a team trying to get back into the playoff mix.
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Ta’Quon Graham
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 4 (4)
Should be: Renting
A fifth-round pick in 2021, Graham started nine games last season before a torn ACL ended his season. He’s expected to make a full recovery and could be a nice fit in defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen’s system on the end of the defensive line.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
David Onyemata
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 9 (9)
Should be: Buying
A seven-year veteran signed in March, Onyemata had played his entire career in New Orleans, where he totaled 23 sacks and 244 tackles.
David Onyemata with the sack!!@BudLight | #BudLightCelly | 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/Z0swarrcOI
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 30, 2022
Eddie Goldman
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 0 (9)
Should be: Renting
After signing with the Falcons in the 2022 free-agency period, Goldman retired before last season began. However, he was added back to the Atlanta roster this year and could provide valuable depth on a remade defensive line.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Grady Jarrett
Years with Falcons: Eight
PFR AV: 7 (13)
Should be: Building
A fifth-round pick by the Falcons in 2015, Jarrett is in the second year of a four-year contract extension worth $50 million. He has started 112 games and is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of all the defensive help the team added around him through free agency.
Timmy Horne
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 3 (3)
Should be: Renting
He started five games in 2022 after signing as an undrafted free agent following last year’s draft. Horne had 18 of his 27 tackles in the final eight games of last season.
DEFENSIVE END
Lorenzo Carter
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 8 (8)
Should be: Renting
This is where projecting the depth chart gets tough. Nielsen hasn’t said, and probably won’t say, whether he envisions his base defensive alignment as a 3-4 or a 4-3, but we know the Saints used a 4-3 with mostly big bodies on the end during his time in New Orleans. The Falcons added Campbell to fill one of those spots, but the rest of their edge rushers are built more like outside linebackers, which is exactly what they were in the previous system. The 6-5, 255-pound Carter is probably big enough to handle the role Nielsen is looking for, but it won’t be a perfect fit.
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Bud Dupree
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 6 (8)
Should be: Renting
The Georgia native is 6-4, 269 pounds, so he’s a good size fit for the defense and he has a long history of getting pressure on the quarterback. Dupree had four sacks last season and has 46 1/2 in an eight-year NFL career. Like Carter, he’s a Georgia native who played his high school football in the state.
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LINEBACKER
Kaden Elliss
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 6 (6)
Should be: Buying
The Falcons clearly have big plans for Elliss because they gave him a three-year, $21.5 million contract despite the fact that his first three NFL seasons resulted in a total of 23 tackles and one sack. Elliss broke out with a seven-sack season last season playing under Nielsen in New Orleans, and he was one of the Falcons’ early free-agent signees this year. He finished the season starting at the weakside linebacker position.
DeAngelo Malone
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 1 (1)
Should be: Renting
Atlanta’s third-round draft pick in 2022, Malone had 29 tackles and a sack last season. He is almost exactly the same size as Ellis (6-4, 240 compared with 6-3, 238), and the Falcons are hoping for a similar career arc from a very athletic player who is still learning the game.
LINEBACKER
Troy Andersen
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 3 (3)
Should be: Buying
A second-round pick in 2022, Andersen started five games last season, including the final four. The uber-athletic middle linebacker was one of the first players Nielsen reached out to after getting the job this offseason. Andersen still doesn’t have an NFL sack, but that will change quickly in Nielsen’s system.
Mykal Walker
Years with Falcons: Three
PFR AV: 6 (6)
Should be: Renting
A fourth-round pick in 2020, Walker started 12 games and had a career-high 107 tackles last season, but he could be the odd man out in the linebacker rotation if the Falcons use only three linebackers in their base unit.
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LINEBACKER
Arnold Ebiketie
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 2 (2)
Should be: Buying
Like the rest of Atlanta’s outside linebackers, the 6-3, 256-pound Ebiketie is going to have to prove where he fits in this new defense, but the Falcons are going to give him time to do that. He started one game last season and finished with 2 1/2 sacks. They traded up last year to draft Ebiketie with the No. 38 pick, so they have a lot invested in him.
Ade Ogundeji
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 6 (6)
Should be: Renting
A fifth-round pick in 2021, Ogundeji has started 27 games in his NFL career. He has 75 tackles and three sacks in that time and by the end of the last season was losing more and more snaps to Ebiketie.
CORNERBACK
A.J. Terrell
Years with Falcons: Three years
PFR AV: 4 (10)
Should be: Building
After a breakout 2021 season, Terrell took a step back statistically. He didn’t have an interception and had a career-low 47 tackles last season, but he’s still a building block for this team’s defensive future. The Falcons almost certainly will pick up his fifth-year extension in the next two weeks and should start working on a contract extension next offseason.
Mike Hughes
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 2 (3)
Should be: Renting
A first-round draft pick by the Vikings, Hughes struggled with injuries early in his career and has been with Kansas City and Detroit in the last two seasons. He has started 11 games in that period and probably will end up as a regular starter with this team because he’s expected to be the top choice at nickelback.
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SAFETY
Richie Grant
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 6 (6)
Should be: Buying
The No. 40 pick in the 2021 draft started 17 games and led the Falcons with 123 tackles last season. He also had career highs in passes defended (seven) and interceptions (two). With Jessie Bates now in the building to play free safety, Grant is expected to be even more involved in the run game defense this year.
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Cornell Armstrong
Years with Falcons: Two
PFR AV: 1 (1)
Should be: Renting
A sixth-round pick by the Dolphins in 2018, Armstrong had four starts for the Falcons last season and then re-signed on a one-year deal this offseason. He’s played mostly cornerback in Atlanta but can provide depth at safety.
SAFETY
Jessie Bates III
Years with Falcons: First, free-agent signing
PFR AV: 8 (10)
Should be: Building
Maybe the most important signing of the offseason, Bates will give Atlanta much more coverage flexibility than it had a year ago. He also brings recent playoff success, something few players on this roster have experienced. The 6-1, 200-pounder had a career-high four interceptions last year for the Bengals and has the speed and instincts to erase mistakes at the back end of the defense.
Jaylinn Hawkins
Years with Falcons: Three
PFR AV: 6 (6)
Should be: Renting
A fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, Hawkins had a career-high 16 starts and 84 tackles last season, but he looks like the odd man out of the starting rotation.
CORNERBACK
Casey Hayward Jr.
Years with Falcons: One
PFR AV: 2 (13)
Should be: Renting
Hayward has played in 161 games since being drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft. He played in only six games last year due to a torn pectoral muscle, and he’s going to have to fight off Okudah to hold on to this starting job. For now, we’ll give Hayward the edge based on experience and his past peak. But Hayward has only five interceptions in the last five seasons after snagging 20 in his first six NFL seasons.
Jeff Okudah
Years with Falcons: First, trade acquisition
PFR AV: 5 (5)
Should be: Renting
If Okudah becomes anywhere close to the player almost everyone thought he was going to be when he was picked No. 3 in the 2020 draft, Atlanta’s acquisition of him for a fifth-round pick will seem like a steal. Still, the Lions were ready to get rid of Okudah for a reason, and it’s unlikely the Falcons will pick up his fifth-year extension this season. Instead, consider this a prove-it season for Okudah in Atlanta.
(Top photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
