Atlanta Falcons need to acquire Lamar Jackson this offseason
Like every NFL team, the Atlanta Falcons will make several transactions this offseason. The main move the team needs to make is trading for Lamar Jackson.
The Baltimore Ravens quarterback is set to become a free agent this spring. While he'll probably wind up being franchise tagged by the Ravens, there's a chance that he'll move on to another team.
And it makes sense for that team to be the Falcons, who could certainly use a star QB on their roster.
This season, Falcons started two quarterbacks: Marcus Mariota (13 games) and rookie Desmond Ridder (four games). Mariota's future with the team is yet to be determined. And who knows if Ridder—who was drafted by the Falcons in the third round of last year's draft—will eventually develop into a star.
Jackson, though, would be a huge upgrade over those two. Although he missed the final six games, including the Ravens' playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals this season due to injury, he's definitely one of the league's top dual QBs when healthy.
He's undoubtedly one of the best running quarterbacks the league has ever seen. The former Louisville star has not one, but two 1,000-yard rushing seasons under his belt.
One of those seasons came in 2019 when took home the NFL MVP award. That year, Jackson threw for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 1,206 yards as well as seven rushing TDs.
Jackson and the Ravens failed to come to terms on a contract extension last year. The reason may be that Jackson wanted a fully-guaranteed deal similar to what the Cleveland Browns handed Deshaun Watson (five years, $230 million).
That means it's going to cost the Atlanta Falcons quite a bit of money if they want to land him. Plus, they'll have to trade a bunch of draft picks to Baltimore as well. But it could certainly be worth it for Falcons who haven't made the playoffs since 2017.
Lamar Jackson could be Michael Vick 2.0 in Atlanta Falcons
Due to his amazing athleticism, Jackson has always been compared to former Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick. Vick spent six seasons with the team after being selected as the top pick in the 2001 NFL Draft.
It was an exciting time for Atlanta fans, and Jackson could get everybody hyped up once again if he's traded there this spring.
Jackson teamed up with young weapons like running back Tyler Allgeier, tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Drake London would make Falcons a fun-to-watch team next season.