London (Special to ZennieReport.com) – Mismanagement and the Atlanta Falcons seem to go hand in hand. The team missed the playoffs for the seventh straight year and has not won a relatively weak division since 2016. So where do the problems lie and where do the Falcons go from here? Let’s consider Falcons General Manager Terry Fontenot.
General Manager Terry Fontenot was hired in January 2021, replacing Thomas Dimitroff, who, despite some early success, left the Falcons in ‘salary cap hell’. Interestingly, the team hired a new head coach (Arthur Smith) a week earlier, not letting the new GM hire his own coach. The move was made by CEO Rich McKay, someone, who seems to wield too much power when it comes to the day-to-day running of the franchise.
The question is, if you need the CEO to make the big decisions then do you trust the GM at all?
In 2021, Terry Fontenot and the Falcons were left with a poor roster and no salary cap room to do anything about it. Therefore, two things became obvious. Firstly, the roster was going to be filled with low-price, short-stay free agents, meaning the draft would be more important than ever.
The following year wouldn’t be much different.
The GM has many responsibilities but will often live or die on the draft choices they make.
So let’s take a closer look at that draft history.
2021
Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
Richie Grant, S, UCF
Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan
Darren Hall, CB, San Diego State
Drew Dalman, C, Stanford
Ta’Quon Graham, DE, Texas
Adetokunbo Ogundeji, DE, Notre Dame
Avery Williams, CB, Boise State
Frank Darby, WR, Arizona State
Three busts in the first three rounds certainly is not a good start although Kyle Pitts had an excellent rookie year, he has seemingly fallen off a cliff in the last two years. Dalman is a capable backup and Williams is a solid special teams player. Can’t rate this draft higher than a D, especially looking at the players they passed on. Team Record 7-10.
2022
Drake London, WR, USC
Arnold Ebiketie, OLB, Penn State
Troy Anderson, LB, Montana State
Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
DeAngelo Malone, LB, Western Kentucky
Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU
Justin Shaffer, OG, Georgia
John FitzPatrick, TE, Georgia
Atlanta had six picks in the first three rounds and ultimately wasted at least three of them. With that, 2022 was still an improvement despite taking another skill player at the top of the draft and not improving a struggling defense. London and Allgeier have proved their worth but the jury is still out on both Ebiketie and Anderson who has been hurt. Desmond Ridder was a complete disaster and Malone wasn’t much better. Draft grade C.
The real story of this off-season was the hierarchy going after DeShaun Watson, thankfully not getting him, and then having to trade Matt Ryan to save face. It was an embarrassing and thoroughly uncomfortable situation. This led to the Falcons bringing in Marcus Mariota at the request of Head Coach Arthur Smith and we all know how this turned out. Team Record 7-10.
2023
Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
Matthew Bergeron, OG, Syracuse
Zach Harrison, DE, Ohio State
Clark Phillips III, CB, Utah
DeMarco Hellams, S, Alabama
Jovaughn Gwyn, OG, South Carolina
Despite another losing season, the Falcons did have a strong running game in 2022, so why take a running back, even one as talented as Robinson in the top ten when you have so many holes to fill especially on defense? Still, it’s hard to criticize the Robinson pick after seeing what he has done during the last two seasons. Both Bergeron and Phillips have been solid but it does look like a more than underwhelming draft class overall. Draft grade D.
The Falcons were able to make a splash in free agency, acquiring the services of safety, Jessie Bates. Who along with London, Allgeier and Robinson goes down as one of the few success stories of Fontenot’s tenure to this point. Team Record 7-10.
Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
Ruke Orhorhoro, DT, Clemson
Bralen Trice, OLB, No. 74 Washington
Brandon Dorlus, DT, Oregon
JD Bertrand, ILB, Notre Dame
Jase McClellan, RB, Alabama
Casey Washington, WR, Illinois
Zion Logue, DT Georgia
Before the draft, Fontenot signed quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency. Handing the 36-year-old $180 million contract over 4 years. $90 million of that was guaranteed. Cousins will earn £27.5m in 2025 and has a cap hit of £40m and a dead cap figure of £65m. This didn’t look like a team-friendly contract for an aging quarterback coming off Achilles surgery. The Falcons also lost a fifth-round pick in 2025 due to tampering in relation to signing the former Viking. By the way the Falcons currently have a little under $7m in cap space in 2025, which ranks 29th out of the 32 teams, again not exactly a glowing reference.
The pick of Penix at eight made little sense at the time given the contract given to Cousins. The other harsh reality is, the Falcons could have traded back about ten spots and still taken Penix. Since Cousins bombed Penix got three starts and looked composed. Although the signs are promising the reality is we need a full season in order to anoint him the new King of Atlanta or otherwise.
Orhorhoro, Dorlus, and Bertrand have been virtually non-existent while Trice missed the entire season through injury. As it stands the Falcons have one mainstay from this draft from eight selections. Team record 8-9. Draft grade F.
Terry Fontenot’s overall record as general manager of the Atlanta Falcons is 29-39. and four losing seasons out of four and it goes without saying, no playoff appearances in that time. Out of the 31 draft picks he made only four look to have a significant future as starters with maybe another four or five adding squad depth. Not really a significant return is it?
A general manager’s performance is based on the roster that they put together for the head coach that they hired and yes, Morris was a Terry Fontenot hire even if Smith wasn’t. The performance of the head coach is also part of the equation and based on the first year Morris, who let’s remember is not a first-time head coach although he made mistakes like he was one, is already on thin ice.
So, if you throw it all together, bad drafting, the Watson/Ryan fiasco, and the Kirk Cousins contract which is looking worse by the day, ask yourself this: Would you hire Terry Fontenot as your general manager? And if the answer is no, which I suspect it might be then why would you keep him in the job at this point?