By now you’ve heard that the Falcons cut ties with Derrick Shelby. Shelby didn’t play a lot in 2017, but when he did he was a terrific defender against the run, and there’s no one on the roster right now who serves as an obvious replacement for him. That means Atlanta will have to look outside of the organization.
As I see it, the team has three options. They can make a huge splash, look to replace Shelby with a similar rotational defensive end, or turn to the draft to get a long-term option with considerable upside.