Schlereth: Falcons are 'far and away' the frontrunners in NFC South with Kirk Cousins

The Atlanta Falcons found their man in Kirk Cousins, landing the veteran quarterback on a four-year, $180 million deal. Cousins gives the Falcons a steady hand at quarterback, which they haven’t had since Matt Ryan retired.

NFL analyst Mark Schlereth of Audacy’s “Stinkin Truth” podcast explained why he thinks the Falcons are the frontrunners in the NFC South with Cousins under center.

“If Kirk Cousins goes to Atlanta, Atlanta is the frontrunner under Raheem Morris to win that division far and away,” Schlereth said (20:05 in player above). “I thought they should’ve won it last year. I thought if they would’ve kept Taylor Heinicke in there the whole time last year they would’ve won that division last year. I thought they had an outstanding young defense with some big-time pieces.”

The Falcons have a good mix of grizzled veterans and young bucks on the defensive side of the ball. They’ve also loaded up with offensive weapons with top-eight picks in each of the last three drafts.

“They got a big-time offensive line. They can really run the ball,” Schlereth continued. “They got a couple of big-time running backs, I think some big-time young receivers.”

Cousins enters an offense with weapons like Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier in the backfield as well as Drake London and Kyle Pitts as pass catchers. He may be able to do some damage from the pocket.

“Kirk Cousins goes there with that West Coast offense that Raheem Morris will bring with him, they win that division,” Schlereth said. “I don’t think there’s any question.”

The Falcons finished with a 7-10 record last season, just two games back of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South crown. Adding Cousins should help close that gap.