How the Falcons will fill the special teams gap in 2016

It's no sure thing, but the Falcons could elect to cut ties with Devin Hester, Kroy Biermann, Nate Stupar, and/or Eric Weems this offseason, for a wide variety of reasons we don't dive into here. What you may notice about those four is that they're all core special teamers, and Biermann, Stupar, and Weems were essential cogs in Keith Armstrong's typically strong unit last year.

I'm going to go ahead and say that Hester is gone and Biermann is unlikely to return, while Stupar and Weems stick around. If that's the case—and assuming that Kemal Ishmael gets the starting gig, where he'll play fewer special teams snaps—how will the Falcons fill that void?

The answer is not, as it might have been in years past, by specifically going out and adding players who are special teams fits. Instead, I expect the Falcons to take players who were at least somewhat promising on special teams in 2015 and try to turn them into legitimate contributors. It saves money, first of all, and there are only so many dedicated special teams types you want to have kicking around your roster, especially when your stated goal is to have a fast, physical team from top to bottom.

So expect players like Robenson Therezie, Philip Wheeler, and Akeem King to fill the void for the Falcons, and to hopefully give the team a new set of cost-effective, truly effective special teamers. Throw some other names out, if you're so inclined.