Julio Jones. Calvin Ridley. Kyle Pitts.
These are the players that new Falcons head coach Arthur Smith must figure out how to deploy for the 2021 season (as long as Jones isn’t traded).
What an immense burden to put on a first-year coach.
Or not. This is exactly the sort of burden Smith would want to have. If the Falcons are going to maximize the last few years of Matt Ryan’s tenure with the team, Smith is going to have to immediately get this offense back on track. With the amount of offensive firepower the Falcons have, that’s certainly a manageable task.
Jones and Ridley have pretty clear roles in this offense: Just continue to be two of the best wideouts in the game.
Pitts’ fit with this offense isn’t as clear right now and it will force Smith to drastically adjust how he uses tight ends compared to his time as offensive coordinator with the Titans.
Integrating a talent like Pitts into the offense shouldn’t be too difficult — he’s a special player — but it will still require a change to the offense that earned Smith his promotion to head coach.
So it’s worth looking at the challenges ahead …