Offseason Mailbag: Kirk Cousins’ contract, free agent targets & draft strategies

The Falcons believe they’ve found their answer at quarterback, but the fanbase has some questions

The new league year won’t officially start until Wednesday at 4 pm ET, but the Falcons have reportedly already landed their quarterback. After weeks of intense speculation—seriously, this was the wildest few weeks of rumors from non-reporters I’ve ever witnessed—Atlanta is set to pay top dollar for Kirk Cousins.

There’s sure to be plenty of debate until the start of the season about whether Cousins was the right choice, but it’s the choice the Falcons decided to make. The four-time Pro Bowler should immediately give Atlanta stability at quarterback and help elevate the young talent around him.

Things can go sideways, sure. And, knowing which franchise we’re talking about here, there’s a decent chance that happens. However, let’s for a second consider the upside of this move. Imagine Drake London stringing together 100-yard games and Kyle Pitts reeling in accurate downfield passes. Meanwhile, Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, now part of an offense that should stress defenses through the air, will have more room to operate and could evolve as pass-catchers.

Cousins coming to Atlanta could fix a lot of the woes from the past couple of years, even if it will cost a pretty penny. I’ll toss in this tweet because Jeff has as good a sense of these things as anyone, and then let’s get to the mailbag!

Besides Cousins, who are the Falcons possibly interested in/talking to? – Josh Gayhart (@Ryan22010)

Kicking things off here with a fitting question from Josh. Only the members of Atlanta’s front office know for sure who is on the free-agent wish list, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to narrow the candidate pool down. Since the Falcons underwent a coaching change this offseason, the best place to start is with players connected to the new staff. With that in mind, I’d look heavily at players who were previously with the Rams or have familiarity with a similar scheme. Atlanta also has connections with the Saints and Bears in the front office, and Jerry Gray was with the Vikings and Packers for a little while.

I’d start looking at free agents connected to those franchises (or, again, scheme) who may have overlapped with some of the coaches on Atlanta’s staff. Like most of us, coaches prefer to work with people they have some level of experience with. So, using those parameters, here are some players that I’d keep at least one eye on:

Danielle Hunter – EDGE (Last team: Minnesota)

Kendall Fuller – CB (Last team: Washington)

Kenny Moore II – CB (Last team: Indianapolis)

Darnell Mooney – WR (Last team: Chicago)

Jordan Fuller – S (Last team: Los Angeles Rams)

Josh Reynolds – WR (Last team: Detroit)

Ahkello Witherspoon – CB (Last team: Los Angeles Rams)

In looking at the Kirk Cousins signing, did the Falcons overspend and is there too much term on the contract? Or is there an escape mechanism to the deal for Atlanta? – Ed Helinski (@MrEd315)

The full contract breakdown likely won’t be available until after the league year officially starts, so we’ll need to wait a little longer before knowing the true details. However, I understand the initial sticker shock. Given that the Vikings were also reportedly trying to keep Cousins in Minnesota, I have to imagine that the price tag was pushed up. But credit the Falcons for getting their guy, something they haven’t always accomplished in the past. If Atlanta viewed Cousins as the clear top option this offseason, I think they were willing to shell out the money to land him.

To your point about the length of the contract, I expect that will work to the Falcons’ benefit. It’s more popular than ever to add void years to player contracts, which allows you to spread bonuses out over a longer period of time. The important bit is the guaranteed money, and Cousins is reportedly getting $100 million no matter what. But $90 million is in the first two years of this deal, so that’s essentially what it is. I assume all parties would like Cousins to play at least three years here in Atlanta, but if he were to somehow go the way of Russell Wilson in Denver, the Falcons wouldn’t be on the hook for nearly as much dead cap if they part ways early.

Draft 2 WRs or go to FA? Draft EDGE or go to FA? – Lee Jay (@kusonagi)

Now that the top need has been addressed, the fun can really begin. We all know that this year’s class of wide receiver prospects is as good as it gets, which is why you could certainly see the Falcons draft one or more. Either Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze may be still on the board at No. 8, and I think either would be worth running up to the podium for. However, a lot of people expect the top edge rusher to be available at that spot as well.

Those two possibilities are where I think the Falcons will start with this. From there, it would depend on how highly Atlanta rates the receivers above the top edge rusher. They could easily add a solid No. 2 receiver in free agency, but they are less likely to add a star pass rusher that way. However, I think their need at receiver is pretty big right now and we know Terry Fontenot likes to go best player available.

If one of the two receivers I mentioned is still on the board, I’d have to imagine that would be the pick at this current moment. Otherwise, I think you’d see the Falcons go with their top defender at No. 8 and circle back around to receiver later in the draft. I’m pretty confident that the team will add both a receiver and an edge rusher in free agency.

Are we going to move on from punter Bradley Pinion? He was below average at best last season. Surely we can do better – Andy Peters (@AndyPetersATL)

I love the work you’re putting in, Andy. Turn over every rock, improve every part of the roster; while we’re here worrying about quarterback, you’re holding punters accountable. Beautiful.

I don’t think Pinion is going anywhere, though. He signed a three-year deal last offseason, so he’s still got two years left and the savings aren’t worth cutting him right now. But you’re right: Pinion’s numbers haven’t really been anything special since he’s arrived here in Atlanta. He ranked 21^st in net punting average (41.5 yards) and 18^th in gross punting average (47 yards) last season, and his numbers the year before were very similar.

There were only a couple of games where I really noticed Pinion last season, so he wasn’t disastrous. But I think it will be at least another year before anything happens at punter.

What QBs are available later in the draft that the Falcons may possibly target? – Lucas Ledesma (@TeamLuduca)

This is an excellent question to end on, because it’s something I’ve heard a lot from Falcons fans recently. In fact, it’s something my Bleav in Falcons co-host, Ovie Mughelli, advocated for in our episode discussing Kirk Cousins. And I get it. I, too, look at what the Green Bay Packers did with their succession plan at quarterback and feel a little bit like the DW/Arthur meme.

Maybe something weird happens and Michael Penix or Bo Nix slip into the third round (or beyond), but there are some developmental guys out there who could be interesting. Tulane’s Michael Pratt and South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler top that list for me. Rattler is more of an athletic wild card to me, and I’ve struggled to get a consistent read on his game. Pratt would be interesting because he has the processing skills, accuracy and toughness to succeed in Atlanta’s new offense. I think he might go a little earlier than the Falcons would be willing to draft him, though.

Any of the guys further down in the draft are a little outside of my knowledge wheelhouse right now, and I don’t want to speak on what I don’t know. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that in this current iteration of the NFL, there aren’t enough practice reps to go around for multiple quarterbacks. That’s why the right backups stick around forever—they know how to handle their business with minimal attention or practice time. Maybe drafting a guy for three years down the road could work, but Cousins is coming in here to help the Falcons win right now and he’ll need those reps with Pitts and Drake London; he’s not going to be ceding practice reps to a fifth-round rookie. I’m not against it, but I do think there are real logistical questions that are being overlooked.

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for today’s mailbag! If you’d like to submit a question for the future, leave it in the comments below or send to @willmcfadden on Twitter.