Free Agency Targets - S
While potentially seen as a position of strength entering the season 2022 was a rough year at safety with both Jaylinn Hawkins and Richie Grant struggling
Entering 2022 it was thought that in Jaylinn Hawkins and Richie Grant the Falcons may have an underrated safety duo who would cement the secondary as the clear strength of the defense. Unfortunately, as the season progressed the safety play ebbed and waned with both Hawkins and Grant struggling at times.
While both players have shown promise closer to the line or scrimmage, neither has shown the athleticism, instincts or patience to consistently hold up on the back end. Regardless of what scheme the new DC plays, finding a reliable free safety is one of the bigger needs for Terry Fontent this summer.
We should say that while neither Hawkins or Grant had ‘good’ seasons they both have a role to play moving forwards. Hawkins is a more than adequate third safety should the team wish to play more Dime looks. In truth, Hawkins has arguably shown more of an ability to cover TE’s than Grant has.
Grant had a confusing season, the ‘good’ parts of his game were evident to see, he flew around and showed good leadership qualities as a real tone setter - there were multiple games this year where Grant looked like the best player on the defense for large stretches. Grant’s ability to come down into the box and essentially act as an extra linebacker was absolutely impressive.
However, unlike other prototypical strong safeties Grant hasn’t yet shown the ability to consistently matchup with TE’s and until he does this his value is somewhat limited. As we saw multiple times Grant can’t be trusted in deep coverage as his over aggressive tendencies when twinned with his middling athleticism make for an easy target on the back end.
Jessie Bates III
No questions about who heads the safety class. Bates has been a premier free safety since he entered the league. A free safety in the purest sense, Bates thrives on his ability to man the deep channels. Bates’ skillset would be an instant fit in Atlanta and sure up one the biggest weaknesses on the team.
While his ability to play deep coverage is absolutely a coveted skill set, Bates is far more than a one trick pony and can be utilised all over the defense as can be seen by his 76.8 PFF grade and 84.8 run defense grade.
While Bates is an elite player and fills one of the biggest needs on the defense his signing would not be without risks. First and foremost, safety is a quirky position with team to team projections arguably the hardest to pin down across all positions.
Secondly, safety is a position which is undergoing somewhat of a usage revolution with cover 2 making a strong comeback as defenses adapt to try and stop the high flying passing offenses of recent years. With more cover 2 there is an argument that the need for elite backend safety play is reduced. While we can debate the truths and merits of this train of thought the point still stands that safeties are only as valuable as the role you ask them to play.
With Bates potentially asking for a 5 year contract it would be prudent to assume he will play under more than one defensive coordinator with his next contract (regardless of team), how sure can we be that any change in scheme or personnel, or indeed any change in league mentality will continue to covet traditional single high safeties?
None of this is to say Bates shouldn’t be a target, he is one of the cleaner free agent fits and truth be told would still add value in split safety looks or even if asked to come down closer to the LOS.
Julian Love
While not a like for like player to Bates, Love is a blue collar player whose skillset would be a good addition alongside Grant and co. While Love may not be the ideal player if your free safety spends the majority of snaps marooned on a solitary middle of the field island, he is a physical, versatile player who would make a lot of sense in a split safety scheme.
While tackling isn’t a skillset that is at the top of a lot of people’s wishlist it is a necessity at safety who a lot of the time are the last line of defense and gatekeepers to explosive plays. Love has a missed tackle rate of less than 7% over the past 3 seasons. This is an absurdly low percentage and is massively valuable for players who often find themselves alone in space.
Chauncey Gardner Johnson
This list wouldn’t be complete without another former saint. CGJ was a surprise draft day trade to the Eagles after he failed to come to agreement with the Saints on an extension. While joining the best team in the NFC, CGJ also saw a valuable position change with the Eagles moving him to free safety after playing the slot in New Orleans.
Gardner hit the ground running in Philadelphia and despite missing 5 weeks he tied for the league lead in interceptions. CGJ also offers legitimate versatility being more than capable of coming down and matching up in the slot.
For all the Falcons have good players in their secondary CGJ would add an element of feistiness that is currently lacking.
Safety is perhaps the position whose approach in free agency may depend most on the hire at coordinator. We may see a coordinator come in and invest heavily in the secondary so as to implement a heavy pressure scheme which is reliant on coverage holding up. Should this be the case we can probably expect safety to be high up the list of free agency targets. If, however, the new DC is a more conservative, drop back, split safety type we could well see investment directed away from the secondary and fixed towards the DL.
Time will tell exactly which direction the Falcons defense takes and exactly how a unit devoid of resources and investment is finally nurtured back to life. Hopefully these previews have given a brief introduction as to the areas of need and the players who may potentially fill them.
We will be back next week with our previews looking at the offensive side of the ball. As always thanks for reading.
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