Anthony Firkser 2022 Outlook
The Falcons signed Firkser to a one-year deal in March. He comes to Atlanta from the Tennessee Titans, where he spent the last four seasons. Throughout those four years, Firkser played in 58 games, making three starts with 106 receptions for 1,107 yards and five touchdowns. One of said touchdowns -- his first, in fact -- came in Week 13 of the 2018 season when Marcus Mariota connected with Firkser in the end zone for a 12-yard catch. Prior to being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019, Arthur Smith was Firkser's tight ends coach during his first year with the Titans the year before. At the time, Smith said what stood out about Firkser was his ability to be a patient route runner, saying he has the capabilities to consistently create space throughout his routes. "Anthony definitely has a good edge about him," Smith told local Tennessee media back in 2018. This is the first significant signing the Falcons have made to rebuild their tight end depth after Hayden Hurst left in free agency and Lee Smith retired at the end of last season. Though the Falcons have brought back players like Parker Hesse and Ryan Becker, they needed someone like Firkser to complement the position group that holds Kyle Pitts.
Anthony Firkser 2021 Outlook
After Jonnu Smith agreed to a deal with the Patriots, the Titans quickly moved to keep restricted free agent Firkser in the fold. Firkser, signed by the Titans during the 2018 offseason, had career-highs in catches and yardage in 2020. Over the past three seasons with the Titans, he has played in 43 games, and recorded 72 catches for 816 yards and three touchdowns during that span. Firkser, a Harvard graduate, was targeted 53 times in 2020, and he had just one drop. He was a first-down producing machine. More importantly, as Fansided noted, Firkser actually led the Titans in snaps from the slot last season, so for all intents and purposes, Firkser already was Tennessee's starting slot receiver. But the question is, how can Firkser be the TE1 and the team's primary slot receiver? Assuming new offensive coordinator Todd Downing doesn't make wholesale changes to the team's successful scheme, it's worth noting Tennessee runs out of multiple TE sets 48 percent of the time. The Titans were also third in TE target share and third in TE red-zone targets in 2020. So, the role of the slot wide receiver was already diminished in this offense and a lack of proven, high-end depth at wideout should keep the tight ends busy again in 2021.
