Grading every Atlanta Falcons starter on offense

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The 2023 offense had one job: Improve on the 2022 offense enough to where Atlanta is a bona fide playoff contender. In 2022, Atlanta finished 15th in points scored, 19th in EPA/play and 11th in offensive succe s rate. With Marcus Mariota out and the addition of Desmond Ridder, the Falcons thought they could become an instant playoff contender. Instead, Atlantas musical chairs at the quarterback position had the offense regre s to 26th in points scored, 27th in EPA/play and 20th in offensive succe s rate.Were here again. With a third quarterback to start week one in three years, except this one should have the correct effect. Kirk Cousins makes the Falcons the team to beat in the NFC South (-115 odds to win the division, according to). But to make sure, we use this exercise to go position-by-position to find the potential weakne ses Paul O'Neill Jersey and identify the most impactful strengths for the 2024 iteration of Atlantas offense.If we did this exercise for the previous two years, this grade wouldnt be any higher than maybe a D+. With Cousins in the fray, there is a chance that even this solid grade can be seen as undervaluing his impact on the Falcons.The mixture of his age and recent injury history drops his grade from a potential A- to a solid B.There are simply not many running back rooms better than the Falcons and their two-headed monster of Robinson and Allgeier. Bijan gives offensive coordinator Zac Robinson a che s piece to move around, similar to Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco, while Allgeier gives you that bruising back that has the big-play potential of his own.A quarterbacks best friend is an elite running game, and while Cousins gets acclimated to the timing of Robinsons offense and his receivers routes, he gets one of the best get-out-of-jail-free cards.Drake London has all the tools to become the main attraction of this pa sing game, similar to Cooper Kupp Jorge Posada Jersey in the Los Angeles Rams offense. Any reservations coming from this room start with the potential usage of Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore. Mooney is a route-running savant, but is he just a shorter Z? Is he going to take away reps from London in the slot? And what of Rondale Moore? Hes better used as a gadget player than a pure receiver.The talent is there, but there are still too many questions surrounding the unit to pencil them in as an impact unit.Kyle Pitts is in the best position Johnny Damon Jersey hes been in since he had late-career Matt Ryan throwing him 1,000 yards worth of balls. He was stretching the field, attacking over the middle and up the seams. Pitts was allowed to be the Unicorn he is. With him being fully healthy and in a more modern offense, expect Atlanta to feature Pitts as much as po sible.While Pitts is having fun in his extended role, Charlie Woerner will play the role of the traditional tight end, adding numbers in the run game and occasionally finding himself some red zone targets.The more things change, the more they stay the same.Matthews is going into his 11th year, all as a Falcon. Matthews has held down the blindside of Matt Ryan and the other Atlanta quarterbacks over the past few years and has done a stellar job. While Matthews may never be an elite run blocker, his ability in the pa sing game makes him a valuable a set along the offensive line.Bergeron has all the potential to be as impactful as the All-Pro on the other side of the line (more on him in a minute). As the season Alex Rodriguez Jersey went along, Bergeron continued to improve, leading to an efficiency rating of 97.1 in the final five games of the 2023 season, good enough for a top-40 spot to finish. A good start for the now-second-year blocker.Drew Dalman continues to be one of the best values on the Falcons as they are getting one of the best run-blocking centers in the NFL (90.0 PFF grade, 3rd among centers). His pa s protection needs work (21 hurries allowed, tied for seventh-most in the NFL), but his athleticism should make him a key component to a running game with a ton of upside in 2024.What else needs to be said about Chris Lindstrom?Hes as athletic as they come at the guard position and continues to be one of the more technically sound players we have today. Lindstrom continues to C.C. Sabathia Jersey be the standard for the Falcons offensive line and will, no doubt, be the focal point for the Falcons running game this season.The question mark on this offense comes at the right tackle position. Kaleb McGary, despite his flashes of good-to-great play, has been frustratingly inconsistent. Theres still hope that McBary can put it all together again with a more run-centric approach, but this feels like a moment where well have to wait and see with McGary.