Atlanta Falcons: Latest Combine News and Rumors

With the NFL Scouting Combine going on throughout the week, the Atlanta Falcons have a lot of questions they need prospects to answer. They also have a ton of rumors and reports over the past couple of days that need to be dug a bit deeper into.

Atlanta has been in the news, primarily this offseason, regarding its new coaching staff and the roster turnover it will undertake very soon. Of those, there are reports suggesting different strategies as well as something that came up with the new linebackers coach.

Falcons Not Expected to Use Franchise Tag

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The Falcons have quite a few decisions to make this coming offseason—the first of which relates to the franchise tag. D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted some of the Falcons' potential franchise tag options and said that he doesn't expect them to use the tag.

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The Falcons are not expected to use the franchise tag in 2015. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, defensive tackle Corey Peters and kicker Matt Bryant are the Falcons’ top potential free agents. Also, defensive end Kroy Biermann, safety Dwight Lowery and offensive lineman Gabe Carimi could become unrestricted free agents.

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Looking at this group, there's only one player the team should use the franchise tag on. That's Matt Bryant. The tag is reserved specifically for those players who are at the top of their position but may not be worth a long-term deal due to age or other factors.

Bryant is that kind of player. He's 39 years old, one of the best kickers in today's NFL and someone who is looking like a year-to-year player before his retirement. Should the Falcons want to give anyone the franchise tag, Bryant should receive the projected $4.09 million tag.

Atlanta Needs More Draft Picks?

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There are many trains of thought on how to fix a team that had a ton of troubles over the prior couple of years. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports suggests Atlanta should accrue draft picks and focus on that instead of working with the cap room it has.

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This team needs to accrue draft picks. The Falcons aren't as close to winning as they thought the past few years. With Julio Jones in need of being paid, and in a shallow free-agent wide receiver market, is there any interest in Roddy White? Jones' extension is imperative. I would go ahead and let Steven Jackson walk right away, taking that $3.75 million base salary with him.

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This is where the biggest disagreement from mainstream media and guys like myself begins. The Falcons had the talent to compete last season. They don't have the 10-15 holes that La Canfora seemingly implies they have. Trading down is nice but only if every pick makes the roster.

That's not always the case. So while, yes, getting some value out of the top-eight pick would be nice, the Falcons should keep Roddy White instead of trading him for some unproven draft pick. Ideally, the Falcons trade down in the second round to pick up some extra fourth- and fifth-round picks.

The Jeff Ulbrich-UCLA Fiasco and Its Impact on Atlanta

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Jeff Ulbrich left for Atlanta, but by doing so, he caused a commotion at UCLA with top recruit Roquan Smith. However, that shouldn't be held against him. Abbey Mastracco of Fox Sports quoted current UCLA head coach Jim Mora about the Falcons' new linebackers coach.

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"It's never a good time to lose a good football coach and a good man, a really good man," Mora said. "What you learn this business is that it's very fluid - very, very fluid. And when you've got good people, which we have here - we have very, very good people - people will come and try get them from you. It's a compliment in a way and I told Dan that, I told Dan, 'Quit pilfering my guys...'

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The fact that Mora is still defending his old defensive coordinator and linebackers coach despite him leaving and losing him a prospective recruit because of it says a lot about how respected Ulbrich is. Things could have definitely been handled a bit differently for the prospect.

Nonetheless, the Falcons have a great linebackers coach coming their way. Ulbrich shouldn't see any impact from his move to Atlanta other than UCLA losing a prized recruit. Atlanta should benefit from having a talented linebackers coach who could help teach its young talent how to play the game better.

Steven Jackson Getting Cut This Offseason?

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Kyle Shanahan may not be the biggest fan of Steven Jackson in Atlanta's new wide-zone-style running scheme. ESPN.com Atlanta Falcons beat writer Vaughn McClure quoted Shanahan when talking about the running back he wants for his offense.

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But the type of guys you want are guys who can put their foot in the ground, get downhill. You do want guys who can create arm tackles and then run through them. I'm not looking for a guy that you have to give 30 carries to get 100 yards. You want guys who get downhill, who get over 4.0 yards a carry and they move the chains for you.

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This doesn't fit Jackson's skill set at this point in his career. The 31-year old is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. Despite him looking like a better back than he was in 2013 or what Michael Turner was in 2012, the Falcons need to move in a different direction.

They would easily save $3.75 million by cutting the longtime NFL back. That money could be used on two draft picks and another free agent at the position who could compete with Devonta Freeman for playing time and be better fits for the Shanahan offense than Jackson currently is.

Falcons Sign Allen Bradford

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Atlanta is starting to sign some lower-level roster guys to contracts. The Falcons led it off with Allen Bradford on Feb. 13. Jay Adams of the official Atlanta Falcons website noted some information on the former Seattle Seahawk after he signed with the Falcons.

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Bradford, 5-11, 235 pounds, was originally selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round (187th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft as a running back out of the University of Southern California. He was signed to the Seahawks practice squad in October of 2011 where he made the switch to linebacker.

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Bradford has great size for a special teams linebacker and should compete for a role within the defense as a reserve. Atlanta didn't sign Bradford with the intent for him to start because he doesn't have the talent to be a starter, and his first four seasons in the NFL would agree with that.

He's bounced from practice squad to practice squad. This signing was likely for the veteran minimum and will only really impact the Falcons should he cause one of the draft picks from 2013 or 2014 to get cut in his stead this coming offseason.

All stats used are either from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats, ESPN, CFBStats or the NFL. All combine and pro-day info is courtesy NFL Draft Scout. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac and Rotoworld.

Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, College Football, NFL and the NFL draft.

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