What's the Falcons Biggest Offseason Need?

A vast majority of teams that don't make the Super Bowl enter the offseason with multiple needs. That's particularly true for franchises that don't even make the playoffs.

CBS Sports' Jeff Kerr was tasked with picking the one area that each team must try to fix this offseason. Surprisingly, Kerr didn't pick the pass rush for the Atlanta Falcons.

Instead, he named the pass defense the biggest area of need for the Falcons.

"The Falcons allowed 34 passing touchdowns this season, second most in the NFL (only the Panthers allowed more)," Kerr wrote. "Opposing quarterbacks had a 100.2 passer rating targeting Atlanta. Perhaps Jeff Ulbrich can turn things around, but they need more help next to Jessie Bates andA.J. Terrell."

This offseason could be the perfect opportunity for the Falcons to revamp their secondary. The team has four cornerbacks who are free agents this offseason. Veteran cornerbacks Mike Hughes, Kevin King and Antonio Hamilton are all set to be unrestricted free agents.

Safety Richie Grant is also an unrestricted free agent this year.

That's a lot of change, but change could be good for Atlanta's secondary, which was 22nd in passing yards allowed and 20th in net passing yards yielded per attempt during 2024.

Of course, the pass rush is connected to the overall defense of the pass.

The best way for the Falcons defense to improve against the pass may not have anything to do with the secondary. With a superior pass rush, one that has a rookie edge rusher selected in the first round during 2025, the Falcons could create more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The result could be fewer yards and touchdowns allowed through the air along with more takeaways.

The Falcons were actually eighth in pass defense during the 2023 season. That was under previous defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen.

But in 2023, the Falcons also had Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree in their front seven. The team wasn't elite at pressuring quarterbacks, but they were 21st in sacks during 2023.

That undoubtably helped the Falcons have a top 10 pass defense.

To fix the problem Kerr identified as the biggest for the Falcons, edge rusher is still arguably the most important individual position to address.