3. Atlanta Falcons
Are the Atlanta Falcons a cursed franchise? Nobody would fault Falcons fans for thinking that way. The franchise from top to bottom doesn’t really seem to have recovered from the 28-3 meltdown in Super Bowl LI, with each subsequent season seeming to get worse and worse.
With all the major coaches gone from that playoff disaster, the franchise looks to begin anew from the top. It’s possible they clean house even more and employ some fire-sale tactics with the purpose of gaining draft capital, but either way there are some serious reasons that the Falcons are an attractive option for Eric Bieniemy.
The team’s losses in 2020 have overshadowed a fairly decent start to the season for Matt Ryan. Ryan is not so far removed from his MVP season, and is on pace for nearly 5,000 yards, 30 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions.
Add the obvious talent of Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, and a somewhat resurgent Todd Gurley, and the Falcons have some key pieces to an offense that Bieniemy would undoubtedly make more productive.
The Falcons have some gaping holes, particularly on defense. That said, they are on track to have a top-three pick in next year’s NFL draft and up to nine picks in total. If they begin trading starters for draft picks that capital position becomes even more appealing.
Similarly to the next team, the Falcons are a team that gives Bieniemy options. He can either retain quality veterans and build with high quality draft capital, or completely re-make the team’s roster in his own image.