Falcons have started their DIY project: reshaping the wide receiver group

“I’m excited for us to get a fresh start at wideout,” Morris said. “Get some speed in our (group) and develop some things. I think the (Desmond Ridder for Moore) trade married up well for both of us.”

Of course, the Falcons return wide receiver Drake London and have tight end Kyle Pitts.

“Atlanta, the first time that I was here, I just have a vision for how that position looks,” Morris said. “I was lucky to be around Roddy (White), Julio Jones and Harry Douglas. If you keep going, (Justin) Hardy and you’re talking about Taylor Gabriel.”

Morris was with White for his last season in the NFL. But each of the receivers had roles to play off quarterback Matt Ryan getting the ball to Jones.

“You have different body types,” Morris said. “Different movement skills. You want to be able to put all of those guys in that (meeting) room. So, you can really provide that quarterback with more opportunities to get those guys the football, so that you can be explosive.”

Mooney could play the Sanu role, even though he’s not as big. Sanu was 6-2, 210. The speedy Gabriel scored a career-high six touchdowns, and Moore could fit his role.

McCloud and Hodge could be major special-teams guys, as was Hardy, who played in 73 games over five seasons, mostly on special teams.

Mooney was signed to a three-year deal worth $39 million, with $26 million guaranteed. Some believe, as when Sanu signed a five-year, $32.5 million deal in 2016 essentially to replace White, that Mooney was overpaid.

But the Falcons have a vision for him in the offense.

“When you are talking about Mooney, you are talking about an elite separator,” Morris said. “A guy with gas. You’re talking about a guy who can run. You‘re talking about a guy who can get the ball in his hand and make plays.”

The Falcons also believe that Mooney will fit within the fabric of their locker room.

“You’re talking about the kid, the character, knowing him from the draft when he came out on what he was and some of the stuff he brought to the table,” Morris said. “A highly competitive young man. It fired me up about the opportunity to go and get him.”

With London and Pitts, the Falcons believe Mooney can play the X (split end) position and get a lot of one-on-one matchups. Wide receivers commonly are known as X (spilt end) and Z (flanker) in NFL schemes.

“When you see the guy be able to stand up at the X position and probably be an elite separator for you, win some of the one-on-one matchups,” Morris said. “Win some of those 50-50 downs, that he turns the other way for you, really fires me up.”

Fontenot said, “He fits what we are looking for.”

The Falcons also have Josh Ali, Austin Mack and Chris Blair. However, they are not finished adding receivers.

“We knew we needed to add there, and these are the guys we are excited about,” Fontenot said. “It’s not that we’re specifically saying we don’t want to add any more big guys or we want to smaller fast guys, it wasn’t that. It was just about adding really good football players that we feel really good about with regards to their skill sets.”

With the major moves at quarterback and at wide receiver, the Falcons can address other areas of concern in the NFL draft, which is set for April 25-27 in Detroit.

The Falcons know that just about every mock draft in the nation has them taking Alabama outside linebacker Dallas Turner to help improve their pass rush.

“It’s a premier position, right,” Fontenot said. “You always want pressure players, whether it’s an outside linebacker, whether it’s a defensive tackle, defensive end, you always want to continue to add pressure players. It’s a premium position.”

Fontenot said most defensive coaches also will sign off on tackles.

“They always want to have the big dudes (who) can stop the run, too,” Fontenot said. “So, you can get yourself in positions to rush. ... That can come from a lot of different areas. It can come at the top of the draft, come in the middle, and it can come at the end of the draft.”

The Falcons certainly will look for secondary help during the draft.

“We’re wide-open,” Fontenot insisted. “I love that about Raheem and his staff. We’re completely wide-open, and we know we just have to continue to improve this football team.”

The Falcons contend that this is a deep draft at several positions.

“When you look at the history of draft, you can look at them a lot of times like, you know, you said OK, we really need a pressure player,” Fontenot said. “So make sure you get that, but we can look back at drafts or someone reached on a pressure player or left some really good football players on the board at other positions right.”

In 2007, the Falcons reached for pass rusher Jamaal Anderson (8th overall) and left future Hall of Famers, linebacker Patrick Willis (11th) and cornerback Darrelle Revis (14th), on the board. Running back Marshawn Lynch went 12th.

In 2015, the Falcons selected pass-rusher Vic Beasley eighth overall. Running back Todd Gurley went 10th to the Rams, and the Saints took tackle Andrus Peat at 13th overall. He went on to earn three Pro Bowl trips.

Getting the Cousins deal down, the Falcons could turn to the wide receivers and the rest of the roster without the need to “reach” for players.

“He is a known commodity,” Fontenot said of Cousins. “He has (won) successfully in different places. He’s been successful in those areas. To bring in a player like that, knowing the mindset, the mentality, the leadership, all those areas. We know he’s going to be a multiplier for us.”

(It must be noted that Falcons acquisition of Cousins is under league review for allegations of tampering, which could lead to a loss of draft picks and a fine.)

The Bow Tie Chronicles