NFL fans and fantasy football fans alike were calling for it all season. And they finally got their wish. No more Arthur Smith. That means we get a new coaching staff, a new offense, and likely a new quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in 2024. Exciting times. 

The team has a lot of young talent at the top like Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts but the depth chart is fairly thin once you get past them. That leaves a lot of work to do for GM Terry Fontenot and president Rich McKay this offseason. The Falcons have hired Raheem Morris as head coach, per reports. Let's take a look at the Falcons' weapons leading into NFL free agency both from the perspective of Falcons fans and fantasy gamers. 

The combine and 2024 NFL Draft are right around the corner and, thanks to dynasty leagues and early best ball, fantasy football is a year-round sport! Bill Belichick may not be the new head coach, but that's what he would want, after all.

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

Falcons Depth Chart for Fantasy Football

Quarterback

Desmond Ridder

Taylor Heinicke

 

Running Back

Bijan Robinson

Tyler Allgeier

Cordarelle Patterson

Wide Receiver

Drake London

Mack Hollins

 

Wide Receiver

Van Jefferson

Scotty Miller

 

Wide Receiver

Khadarel Hodge

  

Tight End

Kyle Pitts

Jonnu Smith

Mycole Pruitt

Fullback

Keith Smith

  


White = unrestricted free agent

Green = role is safe

Yellow = role could be in jeopardy

Red = could be traded or released

PROJECTED 2024 SALARIES:~ $225M

ESTIMATED 2024 CAP SPACE: ~$25M
 

2024 NFL Free Agency Preview for Atlanta Falcons

Quarterback

Desmond Ridder

Statistically, the best quarterback drafted in the third round over the last 40 years has been Russell Wilson. The next best has been Matt Schaub. Yikes. The cards were pretty stacked against Ridder to begin with. He’s on a rookie deal so probably hangs around as the backup but the team is likely to make a move at QB – and it could even be the aforementioned Russell Wilson. Technically Wilson has not been released by the Broncos yet but the rumors are swirling.

Taylor Heinicke

Heinicke got his chance to show that he could be the QB of the future for this team but it looked pretty ugly. He can be released with only $2 million in dead cap so I would not be surprised to see him cut. 

FALCONS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE

This team is very likely to address the position one way or another via free agency, a trade, or the draft. They are set the pick 8th in the 2024 NFL draft so, to get the right guy, they may need to trade up. 

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, Jameis Winston, Russell Wilson (not currently a FA)

Running Back

Bijan Robinson

NFL fans (especially the ones who play fantasy football) wanted to see more of Bijan Robinson. And who can blame them - Bijan has shown how electric he can be. But the amount we see of him will depend on whether the next coach likes to let one guy run wild or whether they take a committee approach. 

Tyler Allgeier

It wasn’t the job he had in 2022 but Tyler Allgeier did his job. With Bijan operating in space, he simply had to be the short-yardage plodder. With him being on a rookie 5th-round pick contract, he’s not going anywhere. 

Cordarelle Patterson

Patterson had his time in the sun but his days of being a feature back are likely over. He’s among the best kick returners in NFL history but he’s also 33 years old. 

FALCONS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE

The Falcons are pretty set at the top here with Bijan and Allgeier. They could carry one versatile option that can fill in for either Bijan or Allgeier like a Kareem Hunt or Antonio Gibson or maybe they just fill out the depth with a couple of cheaper guys that also play special teams. Late rounds of the draft also aren’t out of the question.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Cordarelle Patterson, Kareem Hunt, Antonio Gibson, Craig Reynolds, DeeJay Dallas. 

 

Wide Receiver

Drake London

London is locked in as the big split end here on his rookie deal. He’s actually the only wide receiver with a real contract in place (they do have a couple of deep guys signed to future/reserves). 

Van Jefferson

They traded for Jefferson from the Rams mid-season but he’s an unrestricted free agent. As of now, GM Terry Fontenot is still with the team but Arthur Smith is gone. The new coach and direction of the team will have a big say but Jefferson is the player I’d be most interested in retaining. He’s the son of an NFL WR coach and he’s a versatile guy to have on the depth chart.

Khadarel Hodge

If and when this team is going to compete, journeymen like Khadarel Hodge should not be a focal point of the offense. He’s a free agent.

Mack Hollins

Hollins is also a free agent. He’s best served as a field stretcher if they retain his services. 

Scotty Miller

Miller primarily plays slot but they used too much fullback and two TE sets that he wasn’t utilized heavily. The new regime might give him a look but there are a lot of slot guys out there.

FALCONS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE

Arthur Smith’s offense was unique in that it used too many tight ends along with the fullback. If the new regime wants to run a lot of 11 personnel, they’ll need both a flanker and slot (Drake London is built like a prototypical split end and Kyle Pitts can also play split end so that aspect is covered). That means they probably wouldn’t go for guys like Mike Evans or Tee Higgins but could use some guys who are craftier in space.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Marquise Brown, Van Jefferson, Curtis Samuel, Darnell Mooney, DJ Chark, Gabe Davis

Tight End

Kyle Pitts

It was a fairly forgettable season for Kyle Pitts as he dealt with some lingering knee issues and poor QB play. But his 90 targets were actually top 10 for tight ends and tied with George Kittle so there is some hope that he can have a better 2024. He’s the starting tight end here with little to no risk of them replacing him with a better pass-catching tight end.

Jonnu Smith

This is an interesting one. You would think Pitts would play WR with Jonnu inline but Jonnu also played more snaps at WR than he did inline. It wasn’t as pronounced as Pitts but he was used as a supplement to the lack of wideouts. We’ll have to see what the new staff has planned as he can be released with $6.5 mil in savings, and $2.5 mil in dead cap. His path to fantasy relevancy would require them to neglect adding pass catchers so, in your dynasty leagues, it might be better for him to not be on the Falcons.

Mycole Pruitt

Pruitt served as the blocking tight end. If they don’t bring him back, they’d likely add someone that they trust in this role (unless they convert Jonnu to that role). 

FALCONS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE

If anything they really just need depth and that would probably come in the form of a primary blocking tight end.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: MyCole Pruitt, Charlie Woerner, Drew Sample, Adam Trautman, Johnny Mundt, Tyler Kroft, Blake Bell

 

NFL Free Agency Previews

Discover our other breakdowns for the rest of the league ahead of 2024 NFL free agency: