The Hometown Take with Dylan Mathews

Dylan opens up the show with some Falcons talk as they have reportedly signed WR Darnell Mooney (Bears) to a 3-yr and Dylan notes that while some may have concerned about the amount of the Mooney contract, Mooney is getting market value and that he believes the wide receiver will return to his 2021 form in which he caught 81 passes for 1055 yards and four touchdowns due to the Falcons having a more consistent offense with newly acquired Kirk Cousins under center for the Falcons.

Dylan opens up the show with Falcons talk and the news of them signing Kirk Cousins to a 4-year, $180M deal and says that he does not have a problem with the Falcons move as he believes that they did what they needed to do to go get their guy and not let the Vikings beat them to signing the veteran quarterback. Dylan adds that Falcons should be excited to see Atlanta make this move because he believes it shows that the team is committed to winning now and would not let anything stop them from bringing in the guy they believe can make it happen.

Dylan opens up the show with some NFL talk and reacts to the news that broke late last night that Russell Wilson reportedly will sign with the Steelers, as the Broncos will have to pay $38M of Wilson’s salary. In addition to other QB related news, Dylan reacts to reports that Baker Mayfield agreed to a 3-year, $100M deal to remain with the Bucs. With both quarterbacks off the table, Dylan believes that the Falcons choices for a veteran QB come down to Kirk Cousins and Justin Fields as he believes that they will not look to draft a new signal caller.

Dylan opens up with some NHL talk as he reacts to Zach Klein’s exclusive interview with Vernon Kraus who discussed the efforts to bring a professional hockey back to the Atlanta (Forsyth) and if all goes well and the necessary votes come through, they will bring a team back by the 2027/2028 season. Dylan believes that a team would get the support needed from the local fan base. Dylan then pivots to an update on Jalen Johnson, who was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain, which he suffered on Wednesday night, and is now listed as day to day and will not travel with the team to Memphis for tonight’s game.

Dylan opens up the show with a brief recap of his time at the University of West Georgia media day as he hosted some table talk events. He then pivots to some Falcons talk and shares his thoughts on the mock draft put out by Tori McElhaney of Atlanta Falcons dot com in which she has Atlanta trading up to the No. 3 spot and drafting Drake Maye. Dykan does not believe in any form or fashion that McElhaney’s mock draft is purely based ono her opinion and not influenced by sources from within the organization and he does not see an issue with the Falcons drafting a quarterback, however he does not believe Maye would be the right choice.

Dylan opens up with NFL talk and the latest rumors they have developed from combine and in a recent write up from Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler in which they discuss the latest on Kirk Cousins and Justin Fields in relation to the Falcons. And while Graziano writes that Cousins reportedly would like to stay in Minnesota, he is not willing to come down on his asking price and therefore Dylan believes this could potentially make Atlanta a legit option for the veteran QB.

Dylan opens with some Falcons talk and reacts to some of the rumors that surround them coming out of the NFL combine, including the Bears seemingly ready to move forward with moving Justin Fields however depending on what happens with Kirk Cousins, who is reportedly the favorite in the Falcons pursuit for a quarterback, and a couple other free agent quarterbacks could play a role in what happens with the Bears and Fields.

Dylan kicks off the show with some NFL combine talk and reacts to some of the mock drafts that have Dallas Turner being taken by the Falcons with the No. 8 overall pick. Turner, the Alabama edge rusher/linebacker, finished among the top-3 at his position in the drills which included the vertical jump (40.5-inch), broad jump (10-feet 7-inches) and the 40-yard dash (4.46). Dylan also reacts to comments from Zach Klein, who told Dukes and Bell on Thursday, that he is hearing that the Falcons are seriously targeting Kirk Cousins, which Dylan states that after seeing Turner’s performance at the combine, he would be perfectly fine with the Falcons bringing in Cousins and drafting Turner with the eighth overall pick.

Dylan opens up with NFL talk and reports that the top three quarterback prospects in the draft have met with and are set to meet with teams including the Falcons and Dylan then reacts to Raheem Morris telling Andy and Randy earlier in the week why combine interviews are important, to which the Falcons’ head coach said it is good to see how the prospects respond to being in uncomfortable situations and how they can adjust.

Dylan opens up on some Falcons talk including the release of tight end Jannu Smith, which did not surprise Dylan due to the fact of the amount of money (approximately $6M) the Falcons was able to free up in cap space as well as that fact that there is a possibility that a Zac Robinson ran offense may not be a fit for Smith and Pitts together. Dylan then reacts to audio from both Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot as they joined Andy and Randy on Tuesday from the combine.

Dylan opens up on some Falcons talk and shares thoughts on talks about what the franchise will do as free agency and the NFL Draft near and after hearing comments from NFL Network’s Steve Wyche, in which he states that he is not sure of the direction the Falcons will take to address QB1 as he explains that drafting up into the top three spots for a quarterback may be difficult due to the fact that at least two of the teams with the top three picks are in need of a quarterback and should Chicago decide to move on from Justin Fields, that would ensure they would take a QB with the number one overall pick, therefore The Falcons could have to be aggressive in free agency to find their guy.

Dylan opens up with some Falcons talk and continuous reports that there are expectations they will trade up to from the eighth overall pick to try and take the quarterback of their choice. And after hearing audio from James Palmer and Steve Wyche, in which they state that they could make sense for Atlanta as they are pretty established on both sides of the ball, Dylan agrees with the two and believes that because of the talent and balance on both the offense and defense, the Falcons could not go wrong with that route or finding their QB in free agency.

Dylan reacts the mock drafts put out by The Athletic’s beat writers in which Josh Kendall, who covers the Falcons, had Atlanta trading up to the number three overall pick to take LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, which Dylan believes is not too steep of a price by giving up the 8th pick, the 43rd pick and the 2025 first round pick, especially if Daniels can be a version of a Lamar Jackson type of quarterback.

Dylan kicks off the show with his reaction to Justin Fields explaining why he unfollowed the Chicago Bears on social media, to which he said he does not want to see the trade talk on his timeline especially as he is about to go on vacation and Dylan states that he completely understands the Bears QB’s reasoning.

Dylan opens up with some Falcons talk and reacts to an ESPN article on the top 50 free agents to be and Kirk Cousins ranked third and the best fit according to the article is the Falcons and Dylan believes that Cousins would be a great fit in Atlanta, however the reports of the Vikings’ QB wanting a fully guaranteed contract at 2-years, $90M is a bit steep as the soon to be 36-year old is coming off of an Achilles injury and is already known for being a pocket passer versus one with mobility.

Dylan makes the argument that the lack of defense in the NBA All-Star Game doesn't ruin it's entertainment value. 

Dylan opens up the show with thoughts on the NBA All-Star Game and reacts to the overall perspective that there was no defense played in the game as the final score resulting in the East Team winning 211-186. However, for Dylan, believed that the game was entertaining as players still showed some athletic dunks and making amazing shots and he prefers to see the players having fun and not going as hard as they would in the regular season and avoiding injury.

Dylan opens up the show giving his condolences to the families of those injured and the one life lost at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration. He then dives into the Hawks, who lost to the Hornets on Wednesday and believes that while Atlanta was without Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu, Charlotte was able to take advantage of the Hawks lack of big men available. Ultimately, Dylan believes that the Hawks needed to pick up that win and maybe the All-Star break is coming at the right time for Atlanta.

Dylan opens up the show with his thoughts on reports that the Hawks could be entertaining moving Trae Young this off season and Dylan believes that should there be any truth to the reports, the Hawks need to figure out whatever it would take to keep Young in Atlanta.

Dylan opens up with some talk on the Hawks who fell to the Chicago Bulls, who were a game ahead of the Hawks in the standings, on Monday. Dylan believes that the loss was a result of poorly played defense, as head coach, Quin Snyder admitted that Atlanta was late with their switched on defense and were constantly caught out of position by the Bulls. Ultimately, Dylan believes that the defensive play of the Hawks throughout the season has been their biggest area of concern and that they need guys that “want to play defense”