Expectations are relatively low for the Atlanta Falcons heading into the 2021 season under first-year head coach Arthur Smith. They opted against going for a quarterback of the future during this spring’s draft, so Matt Ryan will head into his 14th season as the starting quarterback.
The Falcons have one of the weakest running back rooms in the NFL, but they added Mike Davis, who played well in relief of Christian McCaffrey with the Carolina Panthers last season. He will be the No. 1 back with Qadree Ollison likely to be the backup option and D’Onta Foreman also in the mix.
With Julio Jones no longer on the roster, Calvin Ridley should continue to prove to be one of the elite receivers in the NFL along with Russell Gage a the No. 2 wide receiver and Olamide Zaccheaus as the third option. The decisions needed to be made at who will provide depth at the wide receiver position between Christian Blake, Tajae Sharpe, Chris Rowland and Frank Darby.
Rookie tight end Kyle Pitts could be the story of this team, and the sky appears to be the limit with him in a talented position group that also features Hayden Hurst.
Falcons 53-man roster following roster cuts
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| Position | First | Second | Third | Fourth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | First | Second | Third | Fourth |
| WR | Calvin Ridley | Christian Blake | ||
| TE | Hayden Hurst | Kyle Pitts | ||
| LT | Jake Matthews | Jason Spriggs | ||
| LG | Josh Andrews | |||
| C | Matt Hennessy | Drew Dalman | ||
| RG | Chris Lindstrom | |||
| RT | Kaleb McGary | Jalen Mayfield | ||
| TE | Kyle Pitts | Hayden Hurst | Lee Smith | |
| WR | Russell Gage | Olamide Zaccheaus | Tajae Sharpe | Frank Darby |
| RB | Mike Davis | Cordarrelle Patterson | Keith Smith | Qadree Ollison |
| QB | Matt Ryan | Josh Rosen | Feleipe Franks | |
| DL | Grady Jarrett | Marlon Davidson | Ta'Quon Graham | |
| DL | Tyeler Davison | |||
| DL | Jonathan Bullard | John Cominsky | ||
| OLB | Jacob Tuioti-Mariner | Brandon Copeland | Adetokunbo Ogundeji | |
| LB | Deion Jones | Mykal Walker | Dorian Etheridge | |
| LB | Foyesade Oluokun | |||
| OLB | Dante Fowler Jr. | Steven Means | ||
| CB | A.J. Terrell | Kendall Sheffield | ||
| S | Erik Harris | T.J. Green | Richie Grant | |
| S | Duron Harmon | Jaylinn Hawkins | ||
| CB | Fabian Moreau | Isaiah Oliver | Darren Hall | Avery Williams |
| K | Younghoe Koo | |||
| P | Cameron Nizialek | |||
| LS | Josh Harris |
*Player who was waived with an injury designation and has reverted back to the team’s injured reserve list
Falcons roster cuts
- RB D’Onta Foreman
- RB Javian Hawkins
- RB Caleb Huntley
- WR Jeff Badet
- WR Trevor Davis
- WR Juwan Green
- WR J’Mon Moore
- WR Antonio Nunn
- WR Chris Rowland
- WR Austin Trammell
- TE John Raine
- TE David Wells
- OL Willie Beavers
- OL Bryce Hargrove
- OL Sam Jones
- OL Ryan Neuzil
- OL Joe Sculthorpe
- OL Kion Smith
- OL William Sweet
- OL Willie Wright
- DL Eli Ankou
- DL John Atkins
- DL Zac Dawe
- DL Olive Sagapolu
- DL Chris Slayton
- LB Emmanuel Ellerbee
- LB George Obinna
- LB Tuzar Skipper
- LB Erroll Thompson
- OLB Kobe Jones
- OLB Shareef Miller
- CB Delrick Abrams
- CB Marcus Murphy
- CB Chris Williamson
- S Dwayne Johnson
- S JR Pace
- P Sterling Hofrichter
- P Dom Maggio