Atlanta Falcons fans have had plenty to stew over this offseason, and ESPN just handed them another reason.
In the network’s latest roster rankings, Atlanta landed tied for 29th with the Arizona Cardinals. Only the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns were placed lower. For a team that has spent the summer in the middle of a full reset, that kind of placement is hard to ignore.
The Falcons have already gone through a sweeping overhaul. Matt Ryan has effectively replaced Rich McKay as president of football, Terry Fontenot is out as general manager and Ian Cunningham is in, and Kevin Stefanski is now the fourth head coach the franchise has had since 2019.
So what’s Stefanski walking into? ESPN’s answer is not much, at least relative to the rest of the league.
The most striking part of the ranking is how ESPN split up Atlanta’s strengths and weaknesses. The analysts labeled running back as the team’s biggest strength and quarterback as its biggest weakness. That alone tells you where the discussion starts for this roster.
ESPN also pointed to an X-factor, though not everyone on its staff landed on the same name. The broader question was how the pairing of Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. will perform at quarterback in 2026. But analytics writer Seth Walder chose rookie cornerback Avieon Terrell instead.
"Last season, Mike Hughes allowed 1.5 yards per coverage snap, much higher than average for an outside cornerback." Walder wrote.
"Could Terrell, who was the Falcons' first selection in this year's draft at No. 48, end up being a better solution at outside corner opposite his brother A.J. Terrell Jr.?
If so, that would be a good sign for Atlanta's secondary."
That cornerback room could use the help. Terrell adds both talent and depth, and the Falcons may need it if nickel Billy Bowman Jr. is unavailable to begin the season while he works back from an Achilles tendon tear.
Still, the bigger pushback against ESPN’s ranking comes from the rest of the roster. This wasn’t a quarterback-only exercise. It was supposed to measure talent across the whole team.
And on that front, Atlanta has plenty to point to. Bill Barnwell recently ranked the Falcons’ offensive skill group fourth in the NFL.
Bijan Robinson is viewed by many as a top-two running back. Kyle Pitts was a second-team All-Pro last year.
Drake London is a top-10 receiver. Up front, the offensive line includes veterans such as All-Pro guard Chris Lindstrom.
There’s talent on the other side of the ball, too. The defense was fueled by young players like James Pearce Jr., Xavier Watts, Brandon Dorlus, and Jalen Walker, and the unit helped the Falcons set a franchise record with 57 sacks.
That’s part of why Atlanta was viewed around the league as one of the better jobs available after 10 head coaches changed this offseason. The roster strength was supposed to be a selling point.
Quarterback play can absolutely drag a team down. The Falcons know that as well as anyone. But ESPN’s ranking was not supposed to be a referendum on just that one position.
If Atlanta truly had the 30th-best roster in the league, then Raheem Morris would have had to squeeze an 8-9 record out of a group that was badly outmatched. That doesn’t line up with what people saw last season.
Morris was fired because the Falcons underachieved and looked unprepared too often. The coordinator hires didn’t work, and Arthur Blank moved on after only two seasons.
The quarterback questions remain, even after the franchise made a major investment at the position two years ago. But the rest of the roster still looks strong enough to rank well above the bottom three in the league.
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