The Falcons’ 2024 draft class has been thinned out fast, and the three names still standing are the ones carrying the most weight heading into 2026: Michael Penix Jr., Brandon Dorlus and JD Bertrand.
That group has a lot riding on the season ahead. Atlanta used eight picks in that draft, but only those three remain on the roster as the team heads into its third year with the class.
Ruke Orhorhoro was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in April, Casey Washington is now with the Carolina Panthers, and Bralen Trice was cut this offseason. Jase McClellan and Zion Logue are gone as well.
Penix sits at the center of everything. The Falcons spent the eighth overall pick on the former Washington quarterback after his run to a national championship game appearance, and by the end of his rookie year he had already climbed into the starting role over the struggling Kirk Cousins. Now he’s back in another quarterback fight, this time with veteran Tua Tagovailoa, and Atlanta still hasn’t named a starter as of Sept. 3 with the opener coming on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
His 2025 season showed both sides of the evaluation. Penix completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,982 yards, with nine touchdown passes and three interceptions.
There were flashes, but also plenty left to clean up. Then came the injury: a partially torn left ACL that ended his sophomore season after nine games.
It was his third ACL injury since college at Indiana and Washington, though the first to hit his left knee.
That setback is why the Falcons brought in Tagovailoa in March on a one-year veteran minimum deal after his release from the Miami Dolphins. Penix did get back into 7-on-7 work during the offseason and was cleared for 11-on-11 drills in late August before the preseason finale against Miami, though he did not play in that game. He now has a new offensive coordinator in Tommy Rees, who brings a quarterback background, and this is the year Penix has to show he can be the franchise answer Atlanta drafted him to be.
If he doesn’t, the Falcons could be shopping for a quarterback again in 2027, with Arch Manning and Dante Moore likely in that draft mix.
Dorlus, meanwhile, looks like one of the more interesting breakout bets on the roster. After a quiet rookie year, he put together a much louder second season, finishing with 27 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and quarterback hits in 15 games and nine starts. That production helped Atlanta set a franchise record with 57 sacks, and Dorlus earned recognition as one of the NFL’s top interior defensive linemen.
His role could grow even more this season. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich may need to lean on him heavily with Jalon Walker out for the year because of a torn left ACL and James Pearce Jr. suspended for the first eight regular-season games under the league’s personal conduct policy.
Dorlus has spent the offseason talking about expanding his versatility, and the circumstances give him a real chance to do it. More snaps should follow, and with them, better numbers.
Bertrand’s path is different, but it matters too. The Notre Dame linebacker made Atlanta’s initial 53-man roster, which caught some people off guard because Josh Woods had been expected to take the fifth and final linebacker spot. The Falcons later signed Woods to the 53-man roster and placed Bertrand on injured reserve after final cuts.
Atlanta hasn’t said what the hometown product is dealing with, only that he’ll miss at least the first four games. Over his first two NFL seasons, Bertrand has logged 58 tackles, a sack and two pass deflections. When he gets back, he’ll have to climb back up the depth chart and prove he belongs, especially with roster math squeezing other spots like running back.
The Falcons open the season on the road next Sunday against the Steelers, and the quarterback call is expected by early next week.
In Other News...
Falcons Just Got Dragged Into A Quarterback Trade Debate
The Falcons found themselves pulled into a quarterback conversation they had nothing to do with directly, thanks to a speculative idea from Bleacher Reports Kristopher Knox. His proposed three-team structure would send Tua Tagovailoa to Cleveland, while Atlanta would be attached to the deal through Dillon Gabriel and a conditional 2027 first-round pick, a wrinkle that immediately puts the Falcons in the middle of a much broader debate about how teams sort out their quarterback futures.
It is still just an idea, not a move or even a confirmed negotiation, but it does speak to how the league tends to view Atlanta whenever quarterback speculation starts heating up. The article weighs the pros and cons for all sides, and for the Falcons, the real intrigue is less about what has happened and more about whether their name keeps surfacing in these kinds of discussions as front offices look for creative ways to reshape the position. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Just Let A Familiar Receiver Slip To A Division Rival
Cedric Tillman was available after his release from Cleveland, and the Falcons had a familiar connection to weigh in their favor. He had previously been coached by Kevin Stefanski, and Atlanta had a chance to bring in another receiver after the cut deadline, but instead chose to keep moving with the wideouts already in the building.
Now Tillman lands with the Saints, who had a clear need at receiver and can offer him a path to elevation from the practice squad. For Atlanta, it is a small but notable miss in the division, the kind that barely registers in August and can look different later if a rival turns a waiver pickup into something useful. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Defense Gets A Needed Boost At The Perfect Time
Da'Shawn Hand was back on the practice field with the Falcons after missing most of training camp because of a leg injury, a welcome development for a defense that has been sorting through injuries and suspensions. Hand had been listed as questionable for Week 1, and his return at least gives Atlanta a better chance of having a veteran defensive lineman available when it opens the season.
For a group trying to hold up in the trenches, even one healthy body can matter, especially a player with Hands experience helping with depth and run defense. The Falcons still have work to do before game day, but getting him back in the mix gives the defensive front a little more stability at exactly the right time. [Read more 🡒]