M22: Power of positivity

[Greatnessdc]

Post of Positivity
Going into this cycle I believe I will be taking over one of the worst rosters I have ever had to manage in terms of cap, age, and talent. But I want to discuss what is there that can potentially be the building blocks for a cycle. Before ratings and dev come out its hard to making predictions on some guys such as 2nd round pick Richie Grant so I am mainly gonna target the guys I know will be cornerstones of the team.
Offense:

WR: Calvin Ridley

To start with we will make a quick note of the Julio Jones departure. While it is a huge loss it will make the cap easier to manage after the first year. Losing someone of that caliper of weapon on offense those is almost impossible to replace. It is a good thing I suck at throwing and normally waste his talent anyway.
To that point Ridley is coming off his best year as a pro and imo is a solid number 1 WR who can make the plays you need your guy to make. He did come in as an older rookie and now sits at a solid 26 years old. Ridley I expect to be around 90 ovr give or take 1-2 overall in the downwards range.


TE: Kyle Pitts
The 1st round draft pick this year that may live in controversy for many Falcons fans for years to come. Passing up rookie QB Justin Fields to take arguably the best pure talent guy in the draft. Pitts has been compared to former great Calvin Johnson due to his size and speed but at the TE position. Coming in it 20 years old he will be the centerpiece of the west coast offense that will be implemented in ATL. Hopefully the play action pass game will make a resurgence in my offense and Pitts has a chance to fill the loss of a great pass catcher in ATL. Ratings for rookies are always hard to predict but 80 ovr with XF would be cool eye emoji.

OG: Chris Lindstrom
Lindstroms second year in the NFL saw him step up his game and perform as a top 10ish offensive guard in the league. With the loss of Alex Mack and Jake Matthews continuing to be just good enough but not great, Lindstrom is looking to be the cornerstone piece on an offensive line that will be struggling with talent from day 1. At the age of 24 there is still time for him to dev into a very solid cycle long guard. I am expecting him to come in around 78 overall and star dev.

Defense: None
JK.

Pass Rush: Grady Jarrett
Our best pass rusher. Our best overall player. Jarrett is a great run stopped and one of the best interior pass rushers in the league. Outside of Jarrett the pass rusher talent is almost non existent. He will have to be a one man wrecking crew that can force QB’s to try and move outside and fall into the arms of the outside pass rushers who can pad their numbers. I expect 90-92 overall and SS dev

Linebackers: Deion Jones and Foyesade Oloukun
This is the one position group on the team I am very happy with going into the file. Deion Jones is our stud MLB and the perfect user lb’er for madden. Oloukun follows suit very well as he brings high physicals and an ability to strip the ball. Both of these guys should be Falcons for the cycle and hold their starter positions in a league I mainly expect to only need 2 lb’ers on the field at once. We do have a few depth options with Mykal Walker coming in as our number 3. Jones will check in at 26 years old while Foyesade comes in at 25.

Secondary: ???

My hope is for AJ Terrell to fill this role. He will come in at 22 years old and will have a lot of time to dev into a lockdown corner. I do hope he can land star dev over normal as that will dramatically help him for the cycle.
Beyond Terrell this secondary does not look good. Duran Harmon may be rated decently year one but isn’t a long term solution.
The rookie Grants could be a cycle long Safety but its hard to say that without seeing how they will rate him.
The loss of Keanu Neal is felt greatly in my heart to this day. Secondary will be one of if not the most targeted area for the cycle in FA/Draft/ Trades

Overall: I feel pretty solid about my roster in terms of having at least one player in every position group that I could see growing into an amazing player. We do lack depth at some key positions. Injuries to some of our top guys could hurt this roster more then a lot more around the league.