Pro Football Focus released its rankings of NFL rosters this week and the Atlanta Falcons managed to snag the second-worst position on the list, a steady drop from being placed at No. 25 prior to last season.
Jon Chuckery gave his two cents on the matter during Tuesday night's episode of The Jon Chuckery Show.
The claim that the cornerbacks are the biggest strength for the team was met with agreement by Jon.
“The whole secondary could be their best strength overall if (Richie) Grant and (Jaylinn) Hawkins can step up in the safety position," said Chuckery. "That group could be their strongest unit out there.”
While PFF gave the nod for the biggest weakness of the Falcons to the defensive line, given that they failed to apply pressure to quarterbacks last season and claimed a run defense that ranked 27th in the league, Jon wasn’t so quick to jump on board and gave the honor to the five guys on the other side of the ball.
“You’re gonna have to prove to me that you’ve improved," said Chuckery. "You’re going to have to prove to me that (Jalen) Mayfield’s better, that (Matt) Hennessy’s better, (Kaleb) McGary’s competent. If those guys win the jobs.”
Jon was skeptical that Mayfield and Hennessy have improved enough to be able to anchor that interior on the left side despite having Jake Matthews as a bookend.
“Mayfield and Hennessy, if they hold hands again and that’s your left guard-center, I don’t know if that tells me that this offense line is going to be better, no matter who plays left tackle," Chuckery said.
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When it came to the x-factor for this team, Chuckery went with the quarterbacks.
“With all due respect to Drake London, if you don’t have good quarterback play, Drake London ain’t gonna have no factor this year,” Chuckery said. He can see the Falcons winning maybe six games, but if the offensive line doesn’t keep Marcus Mariota off his back, they could be in for a long and miserable season.