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With March beginning to heat up with roster cuts and combine news, the Falcons are about to start having all sorts of flurries around about who they’re interested in and for what roles.
ESPN’s Vaughn McClure has dropped a fascinating piece of info about who the Falcons might be eyeing once free agency opens. It’s not a name any of us saw coming.
Panthers TE Ed Dickson.
The veteran tight end I keep hearing associated with the Falcons is Ed Dickson, who played the last four seasons with Carolina. Panthers coach Ron Rivera implied Dickson was headed to free agency. The 6-4, 255-pound Dickson, who turns 31 in July,... https://t.co/nw8YmgexG8
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) March 2, 2018
Dickson played behind Panthers TE Greg Olsen for his career in Carolina, but when the latter went out this season with a foot injury, he performed admirably. There was one random week where he went off for five catches and 175 yards against a solid Detroit Lions defense, which might prove he’s ready for more opportunities. He finished the year with twelve starts, 437 yards and a touchdown.
It’s also interesting to see the wording of McClure’s Tweet, saying that the Falcons “haven’t lost total faith in Austin Hooper just yet.” The fact that there’s a need to stress that as verbose as McClure does might indicate the team still isn’t ready for the young tight end to carry the position on his own. Bringing in Dickson would be akin to the team bringing in Jacob Tamme in 2015 — he’d be a stopgap addition that could contribute right away.
With Levine Toilolo out the door and the jury out on developing TE Eric Saubert, the Falcons need depth at the tight end position. Adding Dickson would at least give them a veteran option behind Hooper if they decide not to spend a draft pick on the position, or if they ultimately decide to push Eric Saubert out the door.
We’ll see if this eventually comes to pass.