The Atlanta Falcons are less than a week away from opening training camp ahead of the 2024 NFL season. With anticipation continuing to build, questions have started to swirl about whether the team invested enough in its defense ahead of this year.
"Going into a season like we are with the Falcons, we have absolutely no idea how this plays out," Steak Shapiro said on Thursday morning's edition of The Steakhouse. "I would say we have absolutely no idea how we're going to stop anybody on defense and get some pass rush.
He continued, "I just went over our depth chart, and the AJC is doing a great job every day of laying out each position but going through our depth chart on defense [is tough]. Our top two quarterback sack guys are already gone from last year, and we were even good at it to begin with."
The defensive line will be returning two key veterans in Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata, but also a lot of question marks -- Zach Harrison showed promise as a rookie, but then there are several rookies like Ruke Orhorhoro, Brandon Dorlus, and Zion Logue.
In terms of pass rushers, the Falcons have parted ways with both of the guys who led them in sacks last season. Bud Dupree and Calais Campbell tied with 6.5 last season. The Falcons, who finished 21st in sacks last season with 42, will be looking to improve on that end of the field despite a rather pedestrian investment into that area this offseason.
Instead, the defense will look to younger veterans like Arnold Ebiketie (8.5 career sacks), DeAngelo Malone (1 career sack), or second-round rookie Bralen Trice.
"Our offense is going to be dynamic," Steak finished. "But boy do they have some challenges in figuring out how to stop people."
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