FanPost

Offseason Ideas: The story of a dog, a porpoise, a horse, and a southern big cat.

With a team needing talent, a coach attempting to fill a roster with his guys, and a lack of draft picks the Atlanta Falcons look primed to hit free agency hard, really hard. To afford it the team will most likely let go some familiar names. The areas I feel need talent are FS, SS, WR, DE, TE, LB, C, and G. The team needs young 1st round talent in the second level of defense, namely LB. They could also use some developmental players at TE, and G. That is where I think the team will head in the draft, with all 3 of these positions offering good options coming out of college. Free agency offers a varitable cornucopia (yeah I'm in college) of options. That is why I have compiled some options that the team could be heavily considering.

The Big Splash Signings:

The Dog- FS Tashaun Gipson: He has already stated he is going to test free agency. He is young, extremely talented, and leaps and bounds better than what we have on the roster now. The downsides are he has missed games already due to injury, but there hasn't been anything career ending, and the market for him is going to be red hot. He could be bringing in some big bucks. He is worth a good amount but somebody might overpay just to secure him. His expected salary will be in the range of 5 to 6 million for 3 to 4 years. The pay could go higher but I don't see Atlanta willing to pay anymore than that.

The Horse- TE Coby Fleener: While Fleener is slightly older than Gipson he is also more of a tried and true commodity. He would prove to be a perfect pair with our current guy, or an upgrade if the team chooses to let Tamme go. Shanny likes TE's who can catch and block, which is right up Fleener's ally. He could also be looking at 5 to 6 million a year, but for a longer contract because of his age, maybe in the range of 4 to 6 years. The team could back load his contract and make it a viable option.

The Sort of Splash Guys:

The Porpoise- WR Rishard Matthews: Matthews is a genuinely good player. He has sure hands and is at minimum a league average possession reciever. Mix that with his age and lack of health issues and he would be an excellent compliment to Julio. The only reason he is probably going to hit free agency is because the Dolphins have drafted a boatload of good young players and it has made Matthews expendable. He can expect a 4 to 4.5 million dollar average paycheck for about 4 years.

The Southern Big Cat- C Stefan Wisniewski: In the 2015 free agency the "Wiz" was a big name. Arguably the best center to hit last year's market, but he messes around and ended up only landing a 1 year deal with the Jags. He won't make that mistake again. Since the talent that might hit the market for centers this year seems to have improved, the "Wiz" will see a much less interest. His loss our gain. He will more than likely be looking at 3 to 3.5 million for around 3 years.

Other Guys to Watch:

Viking- SS Robert Blanton: He was the backup SS for Minnesota in 2015, but their starter in 2014. He is a converted college CB and has taken to the position change well. Considered average across the board his strong point is coverage. He could be a cost effective replacement for the inevitable release of William Moore. Also remember we have young safeties on the roster who could be a stopgap safety. While this route isn't ideal the talent we currently have could prove adequate if the front 7 become more talented.

Giant- WR Ruben Randle: Everything hinges on what the incoming HC decides and what Randle wants. The WR market could have a good bit of talent yet again this year, but Randle may come at a heftier price than Matthews. His health concerns could help his price though.

Bengal- WR Mohammad Sanu: Sanu has been buried behind a boatload of talent also. He could be cheaper than Matthews and also prove to be a solid number 2.

There are other names but thus early on the market can change from day to day. The Falcons will more than likely be forced to look to the draft for LB though. The current ILB free agents are almost exclusively 3-4 players. The few that are best suited for 4-3 are marginal at best. There are a few TE that could prove useful, but with Tamme already on the roster they may not be an actual upgrade, or may not be a good scheme fit.

Once again I am no professional, but that is what I concluded for the moment. Hope you enjoyed it, and good for you for reading it until the end.

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>