Falcons sign OT John Wetzel for veteran depth

The Atlanta Falcons are intent on plugging all the holes they can find on their depth chart at the moment, freeing them up to either take the nine best players on their board in about a week or trading up in pursuit of a potential star or two. The latest signing comes at one of their biggest positions of need, too.

John Wetzel is 27 years old and a hulking 6’7”, 328 pounds, making him over 20 pounds heavier than Jake Matthews’ listed weight and 15 or so over Ty Sambrailo. Wetzel’s made 24 starts over the last three seasons for an Arizona team with one of the league’s weakest, most injury-prone offensive lines, and he’s started at both tackles spots and both guard spots during his time in Arizona. In Atlanta, he’s likely competing for a swing tackle role with Matt Gono, though if the Falcons draft a tackle in the first couple of rounds he’ll likely be trying to hang on as the team’s final, most versatile lineman.

Wetzel’s another solid depth signing for a team that has now used free agency to plug holes at running back, tight end, guard (two starters there), defensive end, defensive tackle (a potential starter there), and safety. If you were of the mind that the Falcons were planning to swap up and try to use their remaining picks on the most exciting players in a given round, well, they’ve done nothing to turn you away from that mindset in recent weeks.

Welcome, Wetzel.