 What's up everybody, Tori McElhaney here, checking in from the 2023 NFL Combine. Scott Barron and I have been here all week in Indianapolis and we've had a lot of conversations with national media about where they think your Atlanta Falcons are in 2023 and what this draft could hold for them. Now, as a special edition of the Falcons Final Whistle podcast, we wanted to bring you those conversations so that you could hear from them what they think the national perspective of your team is. So let's get into it. It's Scott Barron, at AtlantaFalcons.com, digital managing editor here with Ben Solak from The Ringer. Ben, it's gonna be a fascinating off season for the Atlanta Falcons. They have more than $66 million in cap space. They have a top 10 draft pick. They have a lot of needs too. What do you expect from this franchise over the course of the next weeks and months? I'm interested to see what happens with, you know, key free agent. I think Cale McGarry is a big conversation for them. So if you keep McGarry in the building, offensively you feel really good about what you got. The question mark is quarterback. How much you want to trust Desmond Ritter? What sort of lease you want to give him relative to the quarterbacks he might be able to get early? I like Ritter. I've liked Ritter for a long time. I think what you saw over that last quarter of the season makes you feel like he's getting it. He's coming up to NFL speed. You can see it starting to click. I would imagine they feel good about trying to see what that looks like in the first half of next year. And so if you can close the book on offense and say we like Arthur Smith, we like some of our talent, we'll fill in some gaps here and there, you can turn to that defense where there were some issues last season. And you obviously have a big change in defense of coordinator. You're going from Dean Pease and it's an odd front. It's Blitzen and it's crazy. It's Ryan Nielsen who, I don't know if you saw those Saints defensive ends. They're a little bit bigger than the guys at Atlanta have. Oh yeah. It's a slightly different approach to playing defense. I think you'll start to see a lot of resources to get poured in there. And it's a pretty good defensive draft. It's a bit of a quiet free agency class overall, but there's good defensive options. I think you've got the chance to see a big turnover on that side of the ball and try to get that up to the speed of the offense. Yeah, and when you look at the state of the NFC South, right, I think Desmond Ritter might be the senior quarterback. What do you see from the entire four teams in that spot? It seems like it could be wide open. I mean, I remember the graphic in the middle of the season. The Falcons like five and four. Everybody else was like five and five, four and five. And it was like, that's where we're at right now, man. Everybody, it's neck and neck. The Bucks are so talented, but huge quarterback question mark and then they have a ton of free agents. So you don't really know, are they going to try to reload and let some of these guys walk and maybe take a year off? Or are they just going to try to hit it with Kyle Trask, hit it with a veteran and go. There's a question mark there. The Saints are, the Saints, I mean, like, the Saints are going to try to contend independent of whether or not that's a good idea. The Saints are going to be putting guys on the field and attacking and they've got good coaches, they're a smart team. And so the Saints are going to be around that 500 mark. And then there's Carolina who came down nicely across the stretch at the end of last season. Frank Reichs put together a great staff. Like a lot of the Carolina grassroots hype I feel myself getting swept up into. You know what I'm saying? They're likable there in Carolina. I was big on Atlanta to win the division last year. I was feeling great in like end of October beginning of November. I was loving it. And we couldn't get the hay in the barn, is it where? I'll like Atlanta again this year though. Like Arthur Smith, I think is the best offensive mind that you've got in the division. And this is a offensive football-driven league. And I think that Arthur Smith's on the cutting edge of that. And so that to me is the, that's the edge. That's the advantage. It's filling in the gaps. It's handling the free agency stuff, it's handling the defense, bringing that up to speed. But with what Smith does offensively, Atlanta's in a bit of a leading point as of right now. Block and change, the answer's out. It's so interesting though, because if you look at his offense in 2021, it was Matt Ryan Centric, right? And they were throwing the ball downfield. And then in 2022, it was grounded pound and run 10 times and score. What do you think about that kind of model? He really seems to mold his scheme to the players that he has. But do you think that we're gonna keep seeing that rushing foundation from Arthur Smith as we move forward? Yeah, cause defenses are gonna stay light. And they're a light personnel. They're gonna have an extra defensive back on the field. They're gonna have lighter pass rushers. And Arthur Smith is a, what don't you like coach, right? He looks at a defensive over the course of a week. He looks at a defensive over the course of the year and he says, all right, what do you not like today? Who are you trying to hide from me? What area of the field are you trying to keep me from? I'm gonna find my way there, right? And that's when you start to see like, hey, I got an ex Iowa linebacker playing full back. Well, I can just ram into a gap and he's bigger than your middle linebacker is. And we're gonna, you know, I've got a big back in the Cornell Patterson, a real big back in Tyler Algier, who was great for them down the stretch. Like I have size and physicality. I can do this. I can beat you on the ground. And then it's Marcus Mario to all 220 pounds and I'm on a boot throw in tenure. It's like average of 11 eight eight out, right? Like lead the league in depth of target. That sort of an approach works for the personnel you got. So okay, now it's Desmond Ritter. And then, okay, maybe, you know, Kyle Pitts has abused a little bit of different way. Maybe they draft the receiver early and now I've got a different guy and you'll see stuff change. But fundamentally, like Arthur Smith, this was goes back to his Tennessee days. He knows how to be bigger than the other guy. And if you're gonna let him have that, I mean, he's gonna hold the ball for 40 minutes and he's gonna make it physically hurt. And that's the development in the NFL is a pendulum, right? We saw the last 10 years, everything swings towards passing, it's been being lighter. And Arthur Smith's now starting to anticipate the swing back, where I'm gave, I'm gonna put heavy personnel on the field and win. I'm gonna do that and it'll be to my advantage. Yeah, and when you look at this defensive front, which does need some help and you look at what the Saints employ, they got defensive ends who are like 285. That it's a different breed. So would you anticipate some personnel changes up front? Or will it continue to be that multiple front hybrid model and trying to manipulate personnel on the defensive side of the football? To a degree, I think you're gonna see some personnel changes. The Saints are trying to solve a problem with their defensive fronts. Dennis Allen's been the DC there for a long time now as the head coach, wants to play with two safeties deep. Everybody wants to play with two safeties deep now, right? So okay, if you're gonna take a guy out of the box and play him deep, now you have a box count problem. You have one less dude. You're not gonna solve the problem. The Vic Fangio defense, they play these odd fronts and they add guys. Dean P. is gonna go too high with Blitz, right? Add guys from depth. The Saints solution was, let's just have four enormous dudes up front, right? And it worked for them great for a while. They'd run into some rushing quarterbacks and have some trouble, right? Because those Cam Jordan against Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson in space, it's not what you like. So your solutions, they got problems that they solve and then they also have weak points. And so what you're hoping with Ryan Nielsen, a guy who's got college background, we're hoping with Arthur Smith, the guy who's just a good football mind in general is, okay, we wanna play with two deep safeties, that's the way the league is going, but that's gonna present problems, box count problems, run defense problems. We need to have different solutions. So there's solutions that involve, let's go get a 280 pound, let's go get tonal capacity, let's get a big defensive end, right? But there's also solutions that's like, how can we use D'Angelo Malone creatively? You know what I'm saying? Like how can we use some athletes in space a little bit better? There's a lot of ways to skin a cat. So they used to say where I grew up in Pennsylvania, a lot of different ways to skin a cat. And so they're gonna come up with, hopefully dynamic solutions that's not just relying on one thing to solve the problems you have on the defense side of the ball. There's no way that I can let you out of here without one more question. They have the number eight overall pick. There's lots of options. We could see quarterback chaos at the top that pushes edge rushers, maybe the first quarterback taken still there at eight. What do you anticipate being available to the Falcons around that number eight cluster? Absolutely, I think you're gonna see the peak of the quarterback class, which is really strong this year, be right there at that eight pick. And that's where I'm really interested in coming at the Falcons right now, because AJ Trell is so good. But you don't wanna be in a position where teams can go, okay, we don't wanna throw at that guy. We're gonna throw at the guy over there. Yeah, we're gonna throw a guy over there. Right, and when you saw the Saints defense be successful over the last few years, like Marshall and Latimore, incredible, obviously. But they had a Paulson and Debo that they could cycle and who was good for them, the outside of Ken Crawley who was good for them. They had Alonte Taylor, right? They did a great job of filling that corner two spot and that's you play man coverage, which is the golden goose in the NFL. If you play man coverage, you're good. And so I think you're gonna see that top of the corner position, Joey Porter, Jr. Penn State, Devon Witherspoon, Illinois, Christian Gonzalez, Oregon. You see those guys available. You're gonna see the second tier of edge rushers. We talked a lot about getting those big defensive ends. Lucas Van Ness out of Iowa was the guy who's got that size. You're gonna start to see those guys come into play. Other than that, yeah, you're gonna get like the edge of the quarterback class as well. And you have to have an honest conversation about that. How much do you like some of these guys who can develop, who's a project, who do you wanna get into the building? But that, the corner position specifically, Atlanta's really well suited for that right now. So that's where my mind goes first. Fascinating conversation. Heading into a fascinating offseason. Ben Solak from the ringer, thanks for stopping by. Appreciate it man, thank you. We're here catching up with NBC Sports NFL analyst, Chris Sims, to get his thoughts on the Falcons in 2023. So, we're here at the Combine. If you're the Falcons, if you're Terry Fauno, if you're Arthur Smith, what are you looking at as you are kind of going into this week? Well, there's a few things I think you could, you know, certainly look at. The defense is out of the ball. Pass rusher certainly won the area. Look at what the Falcons can improve. The quarterback situation, I think's maybe still on the radar, right? I mean, where you guys are picking, this group looks pretty good as far as that position's concerned. I know Desmond Ritter did some good things too, but I would think, you know, some evaluations are gonna be done there in that department as far as what they wanna do. Rookie, maybe a veteran, somebody, they're gonna add somebody to the mix, right? So I think those are two that probably, you know, jump off the top of my head. I always think with Arthur Smith, you know, offense alignment at some point, but they got some damn good offense alignment too, but I guess that, you know, pass rusher quarterback, that's probably the two I think about it the most here. This is kind of a very different off season than these two guys, Arthur Smith and Terry Fong have had over the last two years. I mean, what can you kind of say about the work that they did over those two years to get to the point where you have 66.676 million dollars in cap space? I like what they have done. First off, you know, Terry has built the team with what I would say, you know, not like a lot of good meat and potatoes guys, right? And, you know, maybe now there's some sizzle that's gotta be added to it with all this money, right? Cause that's how you get the, you know, want the really expensive steak that sizzles, you gotta pay some money for it, right? So I would think that's the thing they look at. And then Arthur Smith, I'm a huge Arthur Smith fan. I just, you know, I'm a huge Mike Brable fan. I know what that coaching culture is like. I know Arthur Smith has brought that there as well. It's tough, it's hard nose, it's detailed. Every game I watch, I go, this is the right game plan for them against this team. This is what they should do, you know? So I like their cohesion and mix here. And, you know, hey, offense to Lyman, there is some size on the defensive front, right? You gotta AJ Terrell at corner, the Drake London, the tight end, all of that. Now I think it's time for, yeah, some difference makers. Some guys that, hey, it doesn't always have to be the most perfect drive. This guy can catch a slant and run for 60 yards or, you know, get a big sack to close out a close football game there. We come out on top. I feel like that's where we're at with Atlanta right now. I mean, let's just talk about quarterbacks for a second. I mean, with Desmond Ritter, I mean, only a four game sample size, but what did, when you're watching what he did in that four games, what are you kind of taking from that? Right. I mean, he does a lot of good things. I love, first off, the Desmond Ritter, the person, the leader, the worker. I, you know, I've heard so many good things about him. I've gotten to be around him a little and he really popped to me in that way, right? He plays with size, you know, his arm is not a big time arm, but he can make all the throws, right? And we saw the athletic ability pop, you know, from time to time as well. So those are the things I like, you know. Now, are they sold? Am I sold that he's definitely the guy for the future? No, I'm not. Like you said, it's four games. It's early. And there's some things I question about his game. And so that's where I go. Like, I think all doors are open for Atlanta in that department. I mean, I don't know. I'm crazy and, hey, draft, you know, hey, we know there's going to be some free agent quarterbacks out there. I still, am I crazy to think Lamar Jackson and Atlanta make sense? I continue to throw that out there. So, you know, no disrespect to Desmond Ritter got great respect for him. But yeah, I don't think he's nailed down that spot quite yet. So what is it going to take for, I guess the Falcons to take the next step and where Terry and Arthur want to take them? I think it's kind of what we talked about, you know. It's an old line that we know can open up some holes and just impose their physical will on you, right? Drake London looks like he's going in the right direction, all that. You know, I think it's just kind of rounding out the roster now. Let's get another receiver along with Drake London, right? Let's maybe add another game-breaking type. You know, Algiers is great between the tackles. Let's get a speed guy. You know, when we throw screens or third down, he's a real viable option in the pass game, right? And then I think when you get into that pass rusher, maybe big time, middle linebacker conversation, those are kind of the things I guess I look at with Atlanta. But not far off, they've exceeded my expectations the last few years as far as wins or losses. And I think that's because the job, you know, Terry has done with value, value picks, value free agents to get that meat and potatoes. And then Arthur's ability to coach the team is damn good. Last question, and then I'll let you get on. With Arthur and kind of establishing an identity, even kind of when we're talking about the meat potatoes, guys rotating in and out, I mean, when you look at the Atlanta Falcons offense, do you see an identity forming and something that's there? Definitely, yeah. It's close, it really is. I mean, first off, the identity is just, hey, we're gonna line up and whoop your ass. I mean, that's the identity. It's just like, hey, we're gonna run it, you know we're gonna run it, and we're still gonna get five yards up the middle. That's, there's something to say about that. There is, they're well-coached up front. They got the type of guys that makes sense. And then he makes them tougher, I feel like, with, you know, his Mike Brable-ish type culture, right? You know, you get around Arthur, he's tough. There's no nonsense. He never cracks a smile. I'm always like, I think he hates me, but maybe he likes me, I'm not sure. But that's a good coach, right? I think my dad would probably say, Bill Parcells was like that. I don't know if he hated me or liked me on a certain day. So yeah, I think, what was the original question? I actually, yeah, I think there is an identity there. I think the NFL knows their identity. I think the public, because they are not enough of a national stage games yet, haven't realized it yet, but I'm guessing this is gonna be the year that, you know, people kind of realize what they got going on down there. Senior NFL reporter for Sports Illustrated and author of the MMQB and a thousand other titles, Albert Breer is here with me to talk a little Falcons football. Now the Falcons have a lot of cap space. They have a top 10 draft pick. What is your outlook for what can be accomplished over the course of what's gonna be a very important off season for this organization? Yeah, I mean, I think what's really interesting is they've got a good group of young core players now. And you look at the Chris Livstroms and Kyle Pitts and Drake Lundins and AJ Terrells, Mercy Grant, like they, I feel like they feel like now they've got a good core players where now they can sort of go into the draft, go into free agency with their options open, just looking to add more good players. And, you know, look, I think last year was tough for them logistically for a lot of different reasons, but they had to do it. And I think it's, you know, similar, and I'm sure you guys have used this comparison a million times, but it's like what, what Brandon Bean and Sean McDermott did their second year in Buffalo where they cleared the decks in that one year. And then they were aggressive building around Josh Allen going into 2020. I think you're gonna see a similar approach this year where they're gonna be maybe not targeting specific positions as much, it's just looking to bring in good players, both in free agency and the draft and being aggressive and doing it. Yeah, they really had to make some tough choices and some sacrifices to create this financial flexibility. What was the national perception of how they went about their business? And they, I mean, Arthur Smith and of course the Falcons GM. Yeah, well, I'll start with Arthur. And I think one thing you noticed about Arthur's teams the last two years is there's a very well-defined identity, like they're tough, they're creative in the run game and they play hard. They may not be winning all the time yet but they play really, really hard. And so the national perception is that it's like a really well-coached team and that they're being patient and building and that Terry Fontenot is taking a very methodical approach in the way he's doing it. And, you know, look, like, you know, we saw Chicago do it last year too. Now they did it in year one with Andy, Bruce and Ryan Poles. But that's what happens a lot of times in these situations where, you know, on the back end, whether again, Rex Ryan and Buffalo or, you know, Dan Quinn in Atlanta or, you know, or Matt Nagy in Chicago, the end a lot of times with, you know, a coach or a general manager who's hanging on, cap issues arise because you see the team trying to hold on and trying to make it work with the core players that maybe they won with earlier. And, you know, like I think it's interesting when you see the kind of cleanup crew come in in these places and they have to do that one year where they're really taking on the dead money and clearing the decks. And so, you know, I think it wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of when they did it. And so, you know, obviously the Falcons hang on to Matt for that extra year and try to establish something in year one, which again, is just what Buffalo did. And then in year two is their clear of the next year. But, you know, I think it was gonna have to happen sooner or later. As you look at this young foundation that the Falcons have and you also look at what they need. How would you prioritize their off-season needs and where or if quarterback fits into that list? Yeah, I think quarterback's gonna be interesting because I think that they'll pull multiple levers there. I also think like, I mean, I don't think Desmond Ritter is like guaranteed to be the starter, but I think it's gonna get an opportunity. You know, it's sort of similar to Kyle Trask and Tampa where, you know, they're gonna look around at all of their options. I think the Falcons will look around at all of their options and probably sign a free agent and probably draft another one, you know, but they're gonna give, I think Des is gonna have a legitimate shot. There's a lot of things to like about Des, both tangibly and intangibly. And I'm sure you know Scott, who he is as a guy. So, I think quarterbacks near the top of the priority list. Now does that mean they're gonna take a massive swing? Maybe not, but I think they're gonna do multiple things at the position. You know, and then outside of that again, like I think that there's just sort of in this position where they can sort of add where they need to add because they've got good pieces and a bunch of different position groups to build around without, I think, a crying need anywhere. And so if you look at like where they're picking, for example, they're picking eighth, I think, right? So they're picking eighth overall. Well, you know, if you look at the makeup of the draft class, that puts them right in front of the cliff where there's really supposed to be a drop off around the 11th or 12th pick. And the players who are above that cliff are more or less defensive pressure players. So like, could you be looking at like the Iowa pass or should could you be looking at one of the Clemson kids, whether it's Brazee or Murphy? You're probably not gonna get Jalen Carter or Will Anderson, but like you've got a chance to get a really good defensive player up there. So I mean, that's gonna sort of, that sort of illustrates the way I think they're gonna approach this, where it's, they don't, I think they go both into free agency in the draft without a feeling that they need to press a certain need and that allows them to just go get good players. And I have one more question for you. There is a new defensive coordinator in town, Ryan Nielsen, comes from the Saints, is well known for developing a solid pass rush. What is your take on that move and what do you think he can bring to this Falcons defense? Ryan's incredibly well respected and was one of the more well respected people in the Saints building. And obviously Terry knows them. And I think, you know, like having the background with him helps, you know, and I think when you look at the physical edge that Arthur's brought to the offense, the idea is Ryan will bring that to the defense and he's got a lot of head coach qualities. And I think you guys will find that out about him when you get around him a little bit more. But yeah, I mean like creative because Sean Payton demanded that and building his staffs in New Orleans. So I think you're gonna see a defensive coordinator who's creative and a defensive coordinator who's gonna prioritize toughness, which sounds a lot like what the Falcons have been doing the last couple of years on the offense. Albert Beer, thank you so much for the time and for previewing what is going to be a fascinating off season for the Falcons. Thanks, Scott. I'm here with Robert Mays, the host of the Athletic Football Show to talk a little Falcons football. Kind of just looking at where the Falcons are right now in comparison to kind of what they've had the last couple of years. Let's just talk salary cap. I mean, what do you see when you're looking at the opportunity that the Falcons have going into this off season? Just a chance to build. I think that over the last two years, you're just trying to get out from under the financial boulder that the last regime created for you. And you understand how you get there, right? You have Matt Ryan, you have Julio Jones, you have ownership that's willing to spend to the cap every single year. I mean, Thomas DeMitroff did what he did to squeeze everything you could out of those rosters, but eventually the bill comes due. And Terry Fondo had to clean up that over the last couple of years. And now you get a chance to build the team that you envision. They've been able to do it slowly through the drafts and the patience that they've shown there. But now, if you wanna go out and get a top of market free agent at safety, like Corner and some of those positions of need, that's on the table now. So it just creates a little bit of a different sense of urgency. I like what they did with the two extensions that they handed out. So Jake Matthews, Grated Jar, they retained both of those guys because you wanna have these kind of beacons in your locker room, even when you're in sort of a rebuild tear down mode. And I think on offense and defense, they had those guys. This is what we want the Falcons to be. So having those two guys under contract, we're also trying to skimp and save other places and giving yourself flexibility to move on from Marcus when it was time. They've just done a good job of never cutting off pathways to different versions of the team and different team building options. So that's how you end up with $70 million in cap space and the eighth overall pick. It's a choose your own adventure sort of off season for them and they can go any direction positionally, financially. And that's all you can ask for as a general manager. I'm not painting myself into any corners. We can go wherever we want to with a roster that has a ton of needs all over the place. So they're in a really good spot. But like he said yesterday at the podium, when you have $70 million in cap space, that means you have a lot of work to do and the Falcons have a lot of work to do. CBS color commentary guy on Sundays and a film that work analyst Charles Davis and we're here to talk a little Falcons and they could be a very interesting team over the course of this off season. They have plenty of cap space. They have a top 10 pick. What are you expecting out of this franchise over the next couple of weeks and months? I'm expecting all of us to enjoy watching what Terry Fontenau and the front office are gonna do because all the things you just lined up, perfect, right? Then you take into account the division right now. Tampa Bay won the division, but they don't scare anyone. And when you have a division, it's as wide open as you have right now. Plus it certainly looks like you found your quarterback. And you know, a lot of times we analyze divisions by quarterbacks. In the NFC South right now, the ranking quarterback is one Desmond Ritter, which is just wild to me. It is wild for all of us because just a couple of seasons ago, we were talking about Cam Newton was at Carolina. Tom Brady was in Tampa Bay. So this is what we're looking at right now. Desmond Ritter looks to be the guy. That's who they'll build around. I like how they've played under Arthur Smith because they look like a three, four win team. Yeah, every game they're in, they're bad. Like they're still there. And down the stretch, there was still an opportunity. Didn't quite get there. But I certainly love what they're doing. I really like the fact that Ritter already has a number one receiver in London. And now you've got to find yourself a runner. It was a pretty good runner last year, Tyler Alger. Yeah, and my favorite Desmond Statt was that he was 44 and six in college. The guy's just a gamer. What did you learn about him studying his tape, entering the professional leagues? And what do you think he did during his first four NFL starts? Scott, I think you brought up the biggest one right there, 44 and six in college. Now, look, it's not like a professional pitcher in terms of record, but there is an element of how did he drive a football team and help elevate a program to a level where they were playing in college football playoff against Alabama? There's something to that, right? There's something to him getting better each and every year in consistency and throwing the football. The ability to run the football and have consistency there and toughness, which he helped give that ball club because Cincinnati built themselves on being a tough group, that group of Bearcats. Take that to what we saw this year in San Francisco with Brock Purdy, who had about 46-48 college starts, who elevated a program at Iowa State that wasn't ever supposed to be that great to where they were playing for a big 12 championship, where they were a pre-season top 10 the next year. And he goes to a ready-made team, and I say ready-made, meaning all the elements in front, really good offensive line, excellent runners, trade for McCaffrey to make them even better, wide receivers, Debo Samuel, you name it. Plus, Kyle Shanahan does a great job running offense. He fit in perfectly. Desmond Ritter would have been a perfect candidate to have been that same Brock Purdy type, but his team wasn't ready for him yet. They're going to come along with him. So tell Falcons fans what they can expect around that number eight overall pick. There's definitely some intriguing talents, pass rushers, cornerbacks, Falcons need a lot of help, especially on defense. What can they expect within that draft cluster around that number eight spot? The quarterbacks always drive a draft, good, bad, or indifferent. This year is not superstar power like we've had in the past, but plenty of really, really good ones. Does Bryce Young come off the board first, right? Does CJ Stroud come off the board first? How deep do we go with Will Levis, right, with Kentucky? So once all that kind of gets taken care of and do people come up to get the guy that they absolutely want, that could drive things for Atlanta as well, because then if it's more quarterbacks and defenders, does Jalen Carter go for maybe being the top player in the draft to slide into a point where Atlanta may have a shot? Does Will Anderson from Alabama, maybe the top player in the draft? Does he slide, quote, unquote, to where Atlanta has an opportunity? Those sort of questions will play themselves out, but the quarterbacks will drive it. No ifs, ands, and buts. I don't think we have the receivers that come all the way up this year. It's not the same. We'll have a lot of good ones, but not quite the same. I really think it's gonna be the quarterbacks and then we're gonna have the elite defenders. They'll be the ones in the top cluster. The Falcons have made no secret that they want to get better rushing the passer and they want to get more explosive on offense. If we're focusing on the defensive side of the ball, talk about the depth of this edge rusher and maybe defensive tackle class that everybody focuses on number eight, but can you get some sneaky good players down the line at those two spots? You certainly can, and what's gonna be interesting is I think you can get them all the way through. Really? And what people are going to look at, obviously the higher the draft pick, the more the expectations, the lower the draft pick. Are we sure about this guy? Was it the senior ball? And I'm watching guys playing and saying, they may not be first round guys. They may not be second day guys, but these guys can play. I look up and see this kid, a Gerard Clark from coastal Carolina, this behemoth of a run, you know, a space eater who can flat out play, get up field a little bit. He might be a third day guy, but he might be a guy you can plug in right away. I'm looking at Will McDonald, the outside linebacker defensive end from Iowa State. Size might be an issue because he's not the thickest guy, but if you have a plan for him and make him a designated pass rusher early as he grows into his body, this guy knows how to go chase quarterbacks. I think he has the big 12 record for quarterback sacks in a career. Again, I don't think he's a first day guy. He's probably a second, third round guy. But again, you better have a plan because I don't think he's a full line starter right out of the gate. And my equation for him is Alden Smith coming out of Missouri. That's a pretty nice equation. But Vic Fangio had a plan in San Francisco, we're not gonna overload Alden early. So he had 15 and a half sacks while they didn't overload it. I'm not saying that's what Will McDonald's going to do, but he has great potential coming off the edge. And I just have one last question for you, Charles, and thank you so much for taking the time with us. You look at the state of this NFC South and you'd already mentioned it. There are a lot of veteran quarterbacks who have left. It's wide open and we see time and time again that the NFL is built on parody. You see worst to first, thirds to first, and the Falcons have all these assets. Now, do they have to get it right? Sure, but is there the opportunity, do you think, for Arthur Smith and Terry to upgrade this roster and maybe get right into the playoff chase here? The opportunity's definitely there and here's why I say it. Not just roster, not just upgrading, not just what I saw them do over these first two years. This is what you're seeing. What you're seeing on Sundays, where you have to deal with the Falcons, where people look at it normally, it should be okay. And then all of a sudden, it's tough. You take an L that you didn't expect to take. You escape by the skin of your teeth. They competed each and every week. They got better each and every week with talent that a lot of people say, yeah, not so great. They've got more than a chance, especially in this division. Could it truly is wide open? You can't sit here and say, I know Tampa won it last year. Are they truly the favorites or is everyone a favorite this year? Right, good for them to reach out and grasp it and take it, because the league is built to be eight and eight. Well, nowadays it's nine and eight, I guess, right? Which way are you going to go from nine and eight? Plus or minus? They have a chance to elevate. It's going to be fascinating to see all of these developments around the Atlanta Falcons. Charles Davis, thank you so much for taking the time to talk about it. Thanks for spending time with me. Well, there you have it, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us on this very special edition of the Bafken's final whistle podcast. You can catch us on Spotify, YouTube, all the things, iTunes even. Go and give us a five star review and we'll be back throughout the remainder of the 2023 NFL offseason.