As Atlanta gears up for another season with high expectations, the similarities to six years ago raise questions about its recent personnel and coaching decisions.
Under Arthur Blank’s ownership, the Atlanta Falcons have turned to familiar paths and faces in their decision-making more often than not. For every bold draft trade or unique coordinator hire, there are many occasions they made the supposed safe decision where they’ve leaned on history to make pivotal decisions. Look no further than hiring Raheem Morris last offseason.
While that decision was justified at the time, given Morris’ development and success with the Rams, it was a moment when the Falcons opted for familiarity with his years of history with the team.
The jury is still very much out on Morris, but there are signs around him that this offseason feels too common, predictable, and flawed. The excitement around two young, highly decorated pass rushers is understandable. Rejuvenating a secondary lacking in depth and speed was necessary. There are still major questions.
How much can four rookies change a unit in their first season when the organization must produce a division-winning season? Will they be able to prove trading away valuable draft assets was well worth it for the talent they acquired over the last two years?
Although the 2019 team was built around a veteran group trying to make the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, there are similarities with how the team was constructed that offseason to be successful in a pivotal year. From a major coordinator decision to first-round draft aggressiveness to underwhelming free agency, there are evident signs of how comparable 2019 is to this year’s offseason.
The current team is younger and on a different path following two disappointing seasons where they fell short of the playoffs, and this will not be a one-to-one comparison. That doesn’t preclude the comparisons from 2019 of their recent attempts to bolster the roster and coaching staff.
Coaching Reunion
It wasn’t surprising to see Jeff Ulbrich return to Atlanta. He was one of the more influential assistant coaches from 2015 to 2020, going from the linebackers coach to partially taking over play-calling duties in the middle of 2019 to becoming the interim defensive coordinator in 2020. Ulbrich has a strong reputation within the organization for being popular with his technical teaching and passionate leadership.
Deion Jones and Foye Oluokun played their best football under him. For all the positives of Ulbrich as the new defensive coordinator, it does feel similar to another move from the past that was understandable but fell completely flat.
Dirk Koetter returned as the offensive coordinator in 2019 after his chaotic tenure in Tampa Bay. It was one of those decisions to help Matt Ryan be more comfortable, rather than learning a new offense again.
That decision quickly became a regrettable one as the run game suffered, passing concepts felt uninspired, and protection sets were all over the place. There wasn’t much cohesiveness in a one-dimensional offense that felt congested and outdated schematically. Reuniting with Koetter was one of the final costly decisions in the Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff era.
While it’s difficult to gauge Ulbrich’s recent season with the Jets, given the dire circumstances and toxicity surrounding the organization, it was concerning to see how ill-disciplined the team was under him. They got gashed on the ground, playing with light boxes often despite not being particularly big in the trenches. They played more Cover 1 than any other coverage despite frequent man coverage busts.
Will Ulbrich adapt his style to a defense that largely played zone coverage and struggled to stop the run with their preference to use light boxes? Koetter’s unwillingness to adapt greatly damaged the chances of the Falcons’ offense being as good on the field as they looked on paper. How Ulbrich acclimates his style to a smaller defense filled with young talent will be critical to the team’s outlook of building a credible defensive identity.
All in on One Area in the First Round
If a team uses two first-round picks in the same positional area, it will likely be used in the trenches. The Falcons did that in 2019 and 2025, albeit on opposite sides. Chris Lindstrom wasn’t even considered a first-round talent by most analysts, let alone a surefire pick like Jalon Walker. The organization sure hopes Walker can develop into a premier edge rusher and defensive game-changer like Lindstrom is at right guard and as a run blocker.
Similar to surprisingly trading up for Kaleb McGary to solidify the future of the right side of the offensive line late in the first round in 2019, they went the same route by selecting James Pearce Jr. to build their pass rush after trading with the same team they did six years ago in the Los Angeles Rams.
The current regime will need Pearce Jr. to prove he’s a capable pass rusher faster than McGary did to be a starting-caliber tackle. It wasn’t until 2022 that the once-maligned right tackle started to make a genuine impact. Although he made strides to earn a contract extension, the Falcons didn’t get the value back they envisioned when trading up for McGary.
There’s even more pressure on Pearce Jr. to be worthy of the investment they put into him, considering how anemic the pass rush has been for years. They need his explosiveness to immediately translate into productivity, regardless if it’s only for 20-25 snaps a game to start.
Pearce Jr. possesses the blistering speed and intangibles to be a difference-maker. How his lean, undersized frame fares against tackles while improving his bend off the edge will be crucial in his development. McGary had imitations entering the league with his short arms and sluggish footwork. He’s never been able to overcome those issues against the top edge rushers.
Pearce Jr. must prove his physical limitations don’t prevent him from beating tackles off the edge. It was a very aggressive move to take a player with question marks over his passion for the sport. How he grows will be one of the ultimate determining factors if this offseason will shape a certified playoff team or leave the front office sweating over their future as the old regime did in 2019.
Contributions From Free Agents?
After spending heavily in the previous two off-seasons, a far quieter free agency period was bound to happen in Atlanta. What was disappointing was the lack of imagination with the signings. Similar to 2019, they didn’t show much ambition in signing players entering their prime who could push the needle. Divine Deablo could be an exception, although it’s difficult to envision him playing a significant role.
Jamon Brown and Tyeler Davison were two intriguing signings from 2019, but Brown proved to be a disaster while Davison ultimately failed to make a lasting impact. Besides those acquisitions, every other notable signing was an aging veteran or role player with previous ties.
In 2019, they opted to bring back Adrian Clayborn and Ra’Shede Hageman. Clayborn couldn’t generate much as a versatile pass rusher two years removed from his best NFL season, while the signing of Hageman was one of many instances where Dimitroff wanted to give a high-end draft pick every opportunity to prove himself to justify his decision to select him.
Leonard Floyd should be a decent contributing edge rusher, but it’s well-documented that much of his biggest success came on teams with one dominant defensive lineman. That doesn’t exist in Atlanta. Jordan Fuller and Mike Ford Jr. were signings with previous ties, while Morgan Fox will turn 31 years old in September.
Floyd and Fox could prove to be valuable contributors. It still would have been encouraging to see more intent in terms of adding players entering their prime, rather than those potentially on the downside of their careers. Depending on players the staff previously coached doesn’t always translate into solid production. Bringing back Clayborn and Hageman to recapture the 2016-2017 magic ended badly for an abysmal pass rush, and the Falcons will try to avoid that trap here.
The way the Falcons’ defense develops will ultimately come from the rookie draft class, the ascendance of second and third-year players, and Ulbrich’s scheme. Being unable to expect much production out of free agent signings besides Floyd and, possibly, Fox is concerning for a unit filled with uncertainty. It was felt in 2019 as Vic Beasley and Takk McKinley never grew into the franchise cornerstones the organization expected them to be, and there is always the danger history repeats itself in 2025.
Concerning Familiarity Could Be Erased on a Different Trajectory
These concerns are legitimate, but conclusions can’t be reached when comparing both offseasons. The moves and decisions share similarities that sparked this piece, but the offense’s most valuable players are at different stages in their respective careers. Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and Michael Penix Jr. are still developing as players. Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, and Matt Ryan were in the last years of their primes or had already peaked.
The current offensive line is more solidified than it was in 2019. Lindstrom, Jessie Bates, and A.J. Terrell are top players at their respective positions. Only Grady Jarrett was truly playing at a top-tier level in 2019, as injuries and inconsistency began to derail the careers of Alex Mack, Desmond Trufant, Keanu Neal, and Deion Jones.
Being a younger team with a strong, growing offensive nucleus bodes well going forward. The biggest question remains: Will the coaching staff and front office be justified in their thought process? Will the massive offensive investments in the first round translate into playoff success with an enhanced defense filled with promising talent that needs time to acclimate?
Familiarity with coaches and players, with the added wrinkle of being very aggressive in the first round, played its part in the Falcons’ downfall in 2019. Morris and Ulbrich saw it firsthand. They can’t let that history play out in the same fashion during the 2025 season.