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It's been an eventful off-season for the Atlanta Falcons. They hired a new head coach, they added some much needed depth in free agency, and they drafted a wealth of young talent. For the first time in years, there's some semblance of a pass rush. Mind. Blown.
Let's give credit where credit is due: the Falcons set out with clear priorities this off-season. They prioritized defensive depth and scheme, mining players who can thrive in Dan Quinn's defense and Kyle Shanahan's offense. They didn't make any single splash signing in free agency, instead taking a deliberate, low-risk approach. They then stood pat in the draft, selecting pass rushing phenom Vic Beasley in the first round.
From a front office standpoint, the Falcons shuffled things a bit, putting Scott Pioli in charge of college scouting and the draft. That allowed Thomas Dimitroff to focus on the salary cap, a historical strength for the spiky-haired general manager. It's safe to say Arthur Blank wasn't happy after back-to-back losing seasons and, as a result, decisive, drastic actions were taken.
But how did the Falcons fare? Overall I'm very happy with the Falcons' off-season. I think they hit a home run by hiring Quinn and if anything, they're approaching this rebuild strategically. It's hard to isolate any one mistake they made. But if I were forced to quibble, I'd question the absence of a long-term deal for Julio Jones. Had they inked his extension earlier in the off-season, the Falcons might've had more cap space heading into free agency. Would that cap space have made a substantial difference? Maybe not. But you never know.
So what do you think? If you could go back and change one thing about the Falcons' off-season, what would it be?