The biggest moves in NFL free agency have already been made, but the Atlanta Falcons were forced to watch from the sidelines with very-little salary cap space for the 2025 cycle.

They addressed some needs with linebacker Divine Deablo, edge rusher Leonard Floyd, and safety Jordan Fuller. However, ESPN’s Ben Solak was critical of the Falcons ability to sign players as well as who they signed.

Solak recently ranked all-32 NFL teams and their 2025 free agency classes on ESPN+, and he has the Falcons dead last at No. 32. He listed what he loved and didn’t love from each class. Atlanta entered free agency ranked between 30 and 31 in available-cap space according to Spotrac, and that helped shape the narrative for Solak.

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It was all downhill from there.

“Pretty much nothing,” Solak wrote about what he loved in the Falcons’ class

What he didn’t love? “Pretty much everything.”

Ouch.

Solak immediately took the Falcons to task for poor salary cap management before digging into the players Atlanta signed.

“The Falcons walked into this cycle with a preposterously little amount of cap space for a team that hasn’t appeared in the playoffs for the past seven seasons,” wrote Solak. “But what they spent on doesn’t move the needle.”

The Atlanta Falcons are doing a good job of turning quarterback Kirk Cousins into the bad guy, but they’re the ones who signed him to a two-year guaranteed contract. Cousins’s money was always going to be part of 2025. That he’s not the starter has nothing to do with his cap hit, whether they trade him or not (a trade helps the 2026 cap).

Questions about why this team parlayed themselves into such a poor position are valid.

However, Solak may have let his disdain for Atlanta’s cap management bias his thoughts on the players they signed.

“Floyd is a Raheem Morris retread and lacks the pass-rush juice to save an anemic front four in Atlanta,” wrote Solak. “Morgan Fox was once a handy player, but is a few years beyond his prime. Deablo probably will not break the starting lineup behind Troy Andersen and Kaden Elliss. Fuller, another Morris retread, will have the same athletic limitations Justin Simmons did in 2024.”

I feel salary cap management is a different category than scouting and signing. The Falcons did a poor job of allocating their resources last year and flushed up to $100 million down the drain on Cousins.

Given how poorly the Falcons played under previous defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake, upgrading the play at specific positions shouldn’t be overly difficult. Is Justin Simmons a better player than Jordan Fuller? Probably, but he didn’t very well last year.

Getting better play out of the safety spot from Fuller than Simmons in 2025 under new defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich isn’t a leap of faith, it’s almost a certainty.

Edge rusher? The Falcons sent a third-round pick to the Patriots for Matthew Judon to watch him chase running backs on wheel routes into the secondary. Is Leonard Floyd better than Judon? That one is up for debate, but Judon was poor for the Falcons. Floyd will play better at edge than Judon did.

With a one-year, $10-million deal when premier pass rushers are making $30-million-plus, Floyd isn’t being asked to save an anemic front four. He’s being counted on to improve it.

As far as Deablo sitting behind Troy Andersen – Andersen has started six games in the last two seasons. Simply being healthy gives Deablo a leg up on Andersen. If Andersen is healthy, Ulbrich has one of the most athletic linebacker rooms in the NFL and gives Elliss the license to free lance on the pass rush more often.

The Falcons may have had the worst free agent group in the NFL, but it’s easy to see how the players Atlanta signed this month can help the team in 2025 without burdening them financially beyond this season.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Billboards paid for by the Canadian government have gone up around Metro Atlanta, warning about the price of tariffs.

“I was a little surprised. I was driving to Emory, it was a digital billboard, it said something to the effect of tariffs are a tax on your groceries, and it was brought to you by the government of Canada and I was like, ‘Oh. That’s an interesting little take,‘” said Dr. Tom Jones, an economics professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

A surprising message over Metro Atlanta: “Tariffs are a tax…” some signs saying on groceries, some saying at the gas pump, but all saying paid for by the government of Canada.

“People watching us in the States are the only ones that can really influence what’s going on in the white house because they’re the victims,” said Melanie Joly, the Canadian Foreign Minister.

The United States and Canada are currently in what some economists would call a trade war since President Donald Trump proposed 25% tariffs on the country.

Canada responded with a threat to implement nearly $21 billion in retaliatory tariffs.

“For another country to reach out to consumers directly is a fairly novel approach. I thought it was interesting for sure,” said Dr. Smith.

Not everyone is receptive to the message.

“For Canada to make that statement it really shows their lack of respect to America,” said Tren Greene, who lives in Atlanta.

Or thinks it’s the best way to make a point.

“I think it’s interesting. I mean obviously they have a message they want to send and I guess they thought this was the best way to do it,” said Aiden Connolly, who lives in Atlanta. “Today I’m not sure if that’s the best way. There’s lots of social media.”

But they certainly have people talking.

“Anytime you can have a dialogue about economic policy, especially economic policy that hits consumers right in their wallet, I think it’s valuable to have that dialogue,” said Dr. Smith.

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The NFL Draft is four weeks away with the first round starting on Thursday April 24th. It’s widely expected that the Atlanta Falcons address their defense after pouring heavy resources into the other side of the ball in general manager Terry Fontenot’s four-year tenure.

The Falcons’ have needs at every level of their defense where a top-draft pick could come in and contribute early, but it’s the historically-anemic pass rush that has been a glaringly-obvious hole for years.

The NFL Draft Class of 2025 is littered with potential pass rushers, and ESPN’s Matt Miller took the gloves off with his latest mock draft. No simple first-round mock for Miller; he goes a full seven rounds, and has the Falcons finally addressing the pass rush in the first round at No. 15… sort of.

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Miller has Atlanta choosing Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell at No. 15, an interesting decision considering the only true edge rusher off the board when the Falcons pick is Penn State’s Abdul Carter at No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns.

The Falcons shored up their linebacker room with the signing of Divine Deablo in free agency. However, Miller makes a compelling case that it’s not the inside linebacker spot that makes Campbell so tantalizing. It’s the thought of him transitioning mostly to edge the same way Micah Parsons did in the NFL.

“With only five picks, the Falcons are under pressure to find defensive playmakers in this draft,” wrote Miller on ESPN+. “Campbell is exactly that, a versatile player who has scouts torn when discussing his ultimate position. He is a top-tier linebacker but has untapped pass-rush potential (five sacks in 2024) that could define his NFL career.

“Every NFL team is trying to find the next Micah Parsons, and there’s hope Campbell could be that as a 3-4 outside linebacker.”

One of the reasons Parsons fell to the Cowboys at No. 12 in 2021, was he was seen more as an inside linebacker with elite traits. Dallas moved him primarily to edge, and the rest his history. In a re-draft, the Parsons might go No. 1 overall ahead of Ja’Marr Chase and Trevor Lawrence (yes, the league is still quarterback crazy).

Mock drafts are most interesting to see who might be available when your team is on the clock. Miller has the Falcons bypassing edge rushers Mike Green (No. 16 Cardinals), Shemar Stewart (No. 29 Commanders), Mykel Williams (No. 31 Chiefs) as well as safeties Nick Emmanwori (No. 17 Bengals) and Malaki Starks (No. 19) among others.

The Falcons had a large contingent of personnel at Green’s pro day this week, and Green didn’t disappoint. Fontenot would love to have the problem of making a difficult choice among several-good options.

He has publicly expressed a desire to trade back and secure more picks for the Falcons, and with so many players available at No. 15, that might be the best option if the right deal presents itself.

But if the Falcons strike gold with Campbell the same way at No. 15 as the Cowboys did in 2021, it would go a long way towards a long-term fix for a pass rush that has been lacking consistency since John Abraham last wore a Falcons uniform in 2012.

It’s not just about getting to the quarterback though. The Falcons are short-handed at defensive tackle and in the secondary as well. Miller has the Falcons addressing the former with massive Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins at No. 46.

“Don’t be surprised if the Falcons use all of their picks on defense,” Miller forshadows on ESPN+. Atlanta could address the front here with Collins, who broke out in 2024 after patiently waiting behind Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat at Texas.

“The 6-foot-6, 332-pounder can play all over the defensive front and has room to grow. His quickness off the snap and backfield chase ability indicate pass-rush upside. But he’s stout enough against the run to see snaps at 1-technique and could even start in Year 1.”

Even with Grady Jarrett, who was cut by the Falcons at the start of free agency, the Falcons lack size and physicality. There’s high hopes for second-year man Ruke Orhorhoro, but he’s a gap-splitting pressure player at 6-foot-4 and 295 pounds rather than a lane clogger.

Miller gets an edge for the Falcons in the fourth round, double dipping in Texas with Longhorns standout Barryn Sorrell. He had 44 tackles and six sacks last season.

With two picks in the seventh round, Miller has the Falcons adding depth to their offensive line in Kentucky center Eli Cox at No. 218 and Clemson guard Marcus Tate at 242.

It’s hard to be critical of any picks in the seventh round. Just making the roster isn’t guaranteed at this point, but safety Dan Jackson (No 225) and linebacker Shemar James (No. 228) of Georgia and Florida respectively, are just two players that could be available when the Falcons’ number comes up on Day 3.

In Miller’s seven-round mock draft, the Falcons are able to get three-probable contributors, all in their front seven. There’s no help in the secondary at cornerback, which remains a big need, or safety, which became less dire after signing Jordan Fuller in free agency.

With no third-round pick and a lack of available salary cap space, the Falcons weren’t going to fill every hole this offseason, but Miller does a good job of addressing two crucial needs in the first-two rounds with the potential to hit the jackpot in Campbell.