The sack-starved Atlanta Falcons made a huge splash Wednesday night with their acquisition of Matthew Judon from the New England Patriots. The perennial Pro Bowl pass-rusher could be the catalyst for a Falcons playoff run in a similar way to what Von Miller did for the LA Rams in 2021.
Judon, despite coming off an injury that cut his 2023 season short, is tied for the fourth-most sacks (43.5) over the last four seasons. He's the dominant presence that the Falcons have been desperate for.
"Honestly, there was a lot of conversation about Von Miller," Mike Johnson told The Steakhouse after sitting in on the Raheem Morris press conference. "Von Miller, not only was he great to have in the building but he got us a ring. That's the kind of guy you want."
The Falcons have struggled to sack opposing quarterbacks on an annual basis. Over the past five seasons, they have an incredible 23 fewer sacks than the next lowest team. They haven't had a double-digit sack guy in seven years (Vic Beasley in 2016) -- and that, unironically, coincides with the team's last Super Bowl appearance.
"This is your biggest need," Steak exclaimed. "Who is going to rush the passer?"
On top of having a guy who can pile up sacks, this also opens the door for the other side of the pass rush to find success. Lorenzo Carter, Arnold Ebiketie, and DeAngelo Malone could play clean up and reap the rewards of Judon flushing the passer out of the pocket.
When you have a killer along the front seven, all 11 defenders stand to benefit.
The offseason moves that the Falcons have made are making it clear that they are all in on what this team could accomplish in 2024 and beyond. Without question, they are showing us they are ready to go for it. Teams win with stars in the NFL, and the Falcons now have a few of those to go around.