Kirk Cousins Agrees to Deal With Falcons: Fantasy Football Impact & Takeaways (2024)

The most anticipated 2024 NFL free agent domino fell Monday afternoon, with Kirk Cousins agreeing to a four-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. This has a major impact on both the Falcons and Vikings, and it will affect the primary fantasy playmakers from both squads.

Let’s examine the immediate implications and fantasy impact of Cousins agreeing to terms with the Falcons.

Kirk Cousins Agrees to Deal With Atlanta Falcons

Finally, the Atlanta Falcons have a quarterback. Everybody wins. Stock up Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson.

To put the QB upgrade in perspective, we can leverage Approximate Value per PFR. Cousins’ AV 2023 season was 7 (13 in 17 games played in 2022) out of just 8 games played. Desmond Ridder‘s AV was 9 in 15 games last season.

Cousins will be 36 years old in 2024, coming off a major injury. The Vikings QB suffered a torn Achilles against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. He led the NFL in TD passes (18) before his injury. Cousins was the fantasy QB6 overall, averaging just under 20 points per game.

Considering mobility was never part of Cousins’ game, he’s another strong late-round QB option that will inevitably sneak into the top-12 if healthy in 2024. I wouldn’t be overly concerned about his injuries.

The biggest winner of Kirk Cousins signing to Atlanta?

LOVE THE DRAKE pic.twitter.com/uXpZD7SeIW

— Andrew Erickson™ (@AndrewErickson_) March 11, 2024

New Falcons OC Zac Robinson will likely design an offense similar to the one Kevin O’Connell uses with the Vikings, given that the two stem from the Sean McVay coaching tree.

Presuming the veteran QB makes a full recovery from the Achilles injury, we should set high expectations for the offense.

The biggest winner is by far WR Drake London, as he can finally capitalize on all the high-end peripheral metrics. London’s usage numbers were strong in 2023, commanding a 23% target share and 31% air yards share. Over 1,200 air yards, 69 catches and 905 receiving yards, but with just 2 TDs. The lack of TDs positioned London as the WR39 overall, averaging just 8.7 points per game (WR46). Like many WRs, London’s ceiling cannot be realized unless the Falcons improve their QB play. With Cousins under center, he’s a talented real-life WR slated to make the jump from fantasy WR3 status to actual relevance.

The Vikings’ inability to retain Cousins suggests that they will add another body in FA (Sam Darnold-type) while drafting a rookie QB in this year’s upcoming draft. As a result, the offense will likely not be as productive, hurting the likes of WRs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, etc.