Atlanta Falcons: Byron Maxwell a dream get?

The Atlanta Falcons defense was one of the worst units in the NFL last season, as they allowed 26.1 points per game and the most net yards per pass attempt of any team, thanks to a non-existent pass rush and a secondary largely bereft of talent. Desmond Trufant quietly played at a shutdown level after an excellent rookie season, and he could approach “shutdown corner” territory under new head coach Dan Quinn.

That said, Quinn and the Falcons clearly need more to work with on defense, and while pass rushers will be the priority, it’s clear that the Falcons needs in the defensive backfield are just as big. Trufant is a true star and building block for Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff, but the Falcons have precious little outside of their No. 1 CB. Robert Alford and Robert McClain have potential, but the “p-word” is meaningless for the Falcons; they need results on defense to support their offense.

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While the Falcons could go after a guy like Jordan Cameron in free agency and need more offensive line help, their biggest needs are easily on the defensive side of the ball. I mean, when you allow 7.6 net yards per pass attempt in a single season, something has to give.

That “something” will be several different upgrades on defense, and it will be interesting to see if one of those upgrades is Seattle Seahawks cornerback Byron Maxwell, who is the best impending free agent corner in a crop that includes Brandon Flowers, Kareem Jackson, and Antonio Cromartie.

According to FOX Sports’s excellent Mike Garafolo, “there’s a lot of talk” that the Falcons will be “strong players” in the Maxwell sweepstakes this offseason, and, of course, the Quinn-Maxwell connection is a “big factor” in these rumblings.

Back in January, we asked for Maxwell’s best free agent fits on Twitter, and Predominantly Orange’s Sayre Bedinger listed the Falcons as one of the possible landing spots. We immediately agreed that Maxwell could be an excellent signing for the CB-needy Falcons, as he would immediately turn a weakness into a strength by partnering with Trufant.

Maxwell’s coverage stats might seem worse than they are at times, but that’s because he was picked on as the de facto “easy” outside CB with Richard Sherman essentially making his part of the field no man’s land. There’s a belief that Maxwell could become overpaid in free agency, since some believe he benefited greatly from the situation in Seattle, but I would be fine with a needy team like the Falcons overpaying just a little bit in order to ensure they sign the best CB on the open market.

According to Pro Football Focus, Maxwell allowed just one touchdown reception last season (includes postseason numbers) with three picks of his own, and quarterbacks thus had a 78.5 QB Rating when throwing it in his coverage. He’s had 12 passes defended in back-to-back regular seasons, and Maxwell was one of the best players during the entire 2013-14 playoffs.

This is a guy who isn’t a true shutdown corner, but he has played at that level before and would give the Falcons an elite pairing at the position. It’s important for the Falcons to make sure they don’t overpay, because Maxwell has a good chance of getting whatever he wants as the top impending free agent CB. Moreover, while this year’s impending free agent crop at CB has several notable names, it isn’t quite as stacked as it was in 2013 and 2014.

Quinn will know how to utilize Byron Maxwell properly on defense, though I doubt he’ll install a scheme too similar to the one in Seattle, since he doesn’t have the safeties or the pass rushing to accomplish that. A first-round selection of someone like Shane Ray won’t completely fix the problem either, but adding players like Ray, Maxwell, and possibly a safety would go a long way to helping the Atlanta Falcons assemble the larger part of an indispensable nucleus on defense under one of the top defensive minds in the game.

Rest assured, the Seahawks will do everything reasonable to keep their No. 2 cornerback under contract after losing two important CBs last offseason, so there’s no guarantee that the Falcons will be in a position to sign Maxwell. There’s also a possibility that another CB-needy team outbids them.

It’s why Maxwell is the Falcons dream get this offseason. While it’s critical for them to assemble a strong pass rush, I’d argue that their coverage in the secondary was just as deplorable, even if most of that seems to be on the safeties. In any case, Maxwell is the top impending free agent, he’ll be expensive, but he’ll also immediately fill a huge need in a huge way, giving the Falcons two corners who could quite easily play at a CB1 level.

The coaching link is important here, too, since Quinn knows how to use Maxwell properly, and that’s enough to make Maxwell look like a logical No. 1 target for the Falcons. As long as nobody jacks up the price, this is a target they can achieve if the Seahawks aren’t able to keep him on the roster by the start of the new league year.

Next: Should the Falcons cut Steven Jackson?

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