The Atlanta Falcons headed into the 2025 season with a clear offensive weakness. One injury to the receiver position and their depth was going to be very much in question.
It wasn't hard for the casual fan to see this and yet the front office refused to make a move to address the problem. It's something that came back to haunt the Falcons in a mortifying 34-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Drake London missed the game with a hip injury, and third receiver Ray-Ray McCloud was cut earlier in the week in what remains a mystifying move. This left the Falcons relying on Casey Washington, Darnell Mooney, and David Sills as their primary pass catchers. Hardly a reliable trio, it was one that helped set up an ugly performance from Kirk Cousins. This points out the obvious that this could've easily been avoided if the Falcons had managed to execute the offseason basics and bring in cheap depth.
Falcons Lack of Receiver Depth Clearly Haunted Offense in Frustrating Week 8 Loss
Even now, there are veteran options sitting in free agency that would be clear upgrades for Atlanta. If you truly had no other choice than to replace McCloud, moves should've been made to offset the loss. Mecole Hardman, Tyler Boyd, Allen Robinson, and Odell Beckham Jr. are just a few examples of easy upgrades Atlanta could make and it would add another option to the back end of the depth chart.
Having waited so long into the season and still having such a myriad of possible upgrades points out just what a failure the offseason was for the Atlanta front office. It is important to be clear here that in no way does this excuse the failures of Cousins or the Falcons' defense. However, the game could've had an entirely different tone if the cast of playmakers was stronger and able to take pressure off an aging backup quarterback.
Instead, the offense was reduced to checkdowns and left all of the pressure on the shoulders of Bijan Robinson, who had a rare off game. If London is out of the lineup, this is easily the league's worst group of receivers. GM Terry Fontenot has to wear this failure and has every reason to attempt to fix the position, even at this point in the season.
While the Falcons shouldn't be considered buyers, there are cheap free agency upgrades that can be found. They are options the team must finally utilize instead of embracing the borderline roster pieces who simply aren't getting the job done.