I was going to do an entire list of defensive free agents. I still might. The thing is, one recent development has caused me to focus, laser-like, on a single player.

That player is Denver Broncos pass rusher Elvis Dumervil.

In addition to having one of the better names in football, Dumervil is a force to be reckoned with. He's a successful pass rusher, once put up 17 sacks in a season, hits like a train and has previous success under Mike Nolan. While he's barely on the right side of 30—29 years old back in January—he's young enough that there's no reason to believe he's in for a drop-off over the next couple of years. A season ago, he forced six fumbles and had 11 sacks.

Inconsistency is a knock on Dumervil. Run-stopping is a sometimes knock. But there isn't another pass rusher on the right side of 30 without a major injury history who is likely to be available to the Falcons—I think Cliff Avril will be way out of their price range—and the history with Mike Nolan can only help. I'm not going to predict this as a likely signing, but if the Falcons don't at least reach out and explore a contract, I'd be stunned. That's assuming he's released, but that appears to be where we're headed.

The chief issue here would be cost—Dumervil will still want to be paid like a high-end pass rusher, obviously—and it's not like he's a spring chicken. If the Falcons could lock him down for a reasonable total, I think he'd be a nice fit.

What do you think?