It has been a long time since the Falcons were so clearly in year two of a rebuilding project. Atlanta clung to the ghost of relevance from 2018-2020, never quite admitting that they were getting further and further away from the 2016 Super Bowl team and tearing down the roster. The budget offseason of 2015 gave way to big spending in 2016 with the addition of Alex Mack, the 2013 re-tool that saw Todd McClure and John Abraham depart gave way to the ill-fated spending spree of 2014, and so on.
The situation Atlanta’s currently in, where they’ve logged four straight losing seasons and are clearly in the midst of significant roster turnover without the advantage of a major spending spree, is basically without precedent in the last decade.