The NFL is a copycat league. There will be teams clamoring to get their own Deebo Samuel or Cordarrelle Patterson this year because the 49ers and Falcons made that look so attractive. More broadly, there will be teams scrutinizing how the Bengals and Rams got to the Super Bowl so they can do the same. Most of the time, all that emulation leads to nothing but consternation, but that won’t stop teams from trying.
The Falcons will be one of the many teams with their faces pressed up against the playoff glass from the outside, trying to decide on the best approach in 2022 and beyond.