Falcons clearly feel there are still holes on the roster, per latest report

The Falcons made two notable acquisitions last offseason a mere weeks before the start of the season, trading for Matthew Judon and signing Justin Simmons. So, a late-season addition is still a possibility this summer.

Most recently, the club was linked to Jaire Alexander, and apparently, he even “thought about” joining the Falcons before signing a one-year, $4 million deal, that could be worth up to $6 million with incentives with the Ravens.

“There were some other teams involved,” Jeremy Fowler reported. “I was told Alexander thought about the Atlanta Falcons, where he had some relationships to the coaching staff there.”

The relationships that Fowler is referring to are Jerry Gray and Justin Hood. Gray is currently the Falcons’ assistant head coach and was the Packers’ defensive backs coach from 2020-22, while Hood, who is Atlanta’s secondary coach, was Green Bay’s defensive quality control coach from 2021-23.

It’s not exactly hard to see why Alexander chose the Ravens over the Falcons, though. Even outside of the connection to Lamar Jackson, who was Alexander’s teammate at Louisville, Baltimore presents an opportunity that Atlanta doesn’t.

We are all excited about Michael Penix Jr. and the Falcons’ revamped defense, but let’s not pretend the chances of winning a Super Bowl in Atlanta are the same as in Baltimore. Jaire Alexander didn’t make this decision because of connections; it was about winning.

However, this report does tell me that the Falcons see their cornerback room as needing improvement. Currently, A.J. Terrell and Mike Hughes are poised to start on the boundary, with a three-way battle for the starting nickel position between Clark Phillips III, Dee Alford, and Billy Bowman Jr.

Adding a starting-caliber player to the unit would go a long way in improving the overall look of the defense. Cornerbacks are a lot like pitchers in baseball; you can never have enough in today’s pass-happy NFL. If Terrell or Hughes were to go down for any amount of time, the Falcons’ defense would look depressing.

The Falcons are telling you what they think of the cornerback room, and I wouldn’t be surprised if an acquisition to bolster that group comes before the start of the season.