The new front office regime for the Atlanta Falcons deserves some time to figure things out. That said, the early reviews have been mostly negative for their offseason work, including an uninspiring free agency period and a draft class with big size questions hanging over their top two picks.
One thing they got right was signing Tua Tagovailoa to the veteran minimum. That’s about it as far as positives go, though.
The Falcons have gotten a lot of criticism in particular for signing former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jahan Dotson to a two-year, $15 million deal, which Pro Football Focus called their worst move of the year. Now Bill Barnwell at ESPN is doubling down on that take.
“Dotson might also be best in that same slot role, and I think the Falcons are still paying for his profile as a former first-round pick as opposed to his actual play as a pro. Over four years in the NFC East, Dotson averaged 0.9 yards per route run, which ranks 79th out of the 80 wide receivers who have run at least 1,000 routes over the past four seasons… There’s a point where taking a flier on Dotson makes sense, but it’s not the $10 million guaranteed mark that the Falcons hit this offseason.”
If the plan was to add Dotson for some extra depth at wide receiver by giving him a one-year, prove-it kind of deal that would have been alright. However, the Falcons clearly overpaid for a player who’s only scored one touchdown since the 2023 season and whose production has dropped off every year he’s been in the NFL.
Giving Dotson snaps in the slot over rookie Zachariah Branch would be criminal negligence – and Atlanta still needs to find a legitimate WR2 to complement Drake London at the other boundary spot.
If the Falcons can’t swing a deal for someone like Keon Coleman or sign Stefon Diggs, they’ll run into many of the same problems their passing game faced the last few seasons. Fortunately, there’s still time for GM Ian Cunningham to make a move before Week 1 arrives.
