Falcoholinks: All the Falcons news you need for Thursday, May 2nd

The draft is behind us and the roster battles are ahead. In today’s Falcoholinks, we take stock.

The offensive line will be a battleground

The Falcons swore up and down that they would look at replacing all three positions of weakness on their offensive line, which felt like a stretch for a single offseason. Give them credit, though, because they attempted to do just that.

Adnan Ikic dove into whether the Falcons’ offensive line revamp will prove as comprehensive and effective as the one undertaken by the Colts in 2018, which had to have been in the back of the team’s mind when they undertook these changes. With two first round picks likely to start at guard and tackle and two moderately-priced veterans competing for the last guard spot, it appears Atlanta’s all-in on better OL play solving a lot of their issues last year, which saw the offense scuffle against good defenses and Matt Ryan sacked 42 times.

The intrigue doesn’t stop with the starters, though. As torgo3000 notes, even with Brandon Fusco’s release the team has a ton of options duking it out for a small handful of spots, and they still don’t have a true backup center on the roster.

Finally, Chris Lindstrom is a deeply intriguing player, and if he lives up to his potential he’ll be a starter for this Falcons team for a very long time. You’ll want to read Eric Robinson’s scouting report.

What will the 2019 roster look like?

This team should be better than it was in 2019, but what will the roster look like when Week 1 rolls around and it’s time to actually deliver on that promise? Kevin Knight’s early look hopes to answer the question, though much may change between now and September.

The new guys at RB

This past week, Dave Choate (who is great, in this writer’s humble opinion) spent a little time looking at why exactly the Falcons elected to draft two running backs with five on the roster (I keep forgetting about Jeremy Langford) and seemingly more pressing needs. The conclusion? That Qadree Ollison and Marcus Green are here for special teams value, versatility, and insurance against injuries to Devonta Freeman and Ito Smith, at least for the short haul.

Falcons fantasy football futures

The draft didn’t see any offensive starters supplanted and it didn’t exactly transform the defense, but that doesn’t mean the fortunes of some of the team’s best players and units weren’t impacted. Adnan goes through the list and sees how Matt Ryan, Devonta Freeman, and the Falcons D/ST may have been impacted and what might be store well ahead of your 2019 fantasy draft.