The Falcons are already looking ahead, and the quarterback hunt is front and center.
On Saturday, Sept. 12, the eve of Atlanta’s season opener, President of Football Matt Ryan and general manager Ian Cunningham were in Stillwater, Okla., taking in the Oregon Ducks-Oklahoma State Cowboys game at Boone Pickens Stadium alongside other NFL scouts. With the Falcons’ own quarterback situation still murky, the timing made plenty of sense: the front office was getting a live look at two of the biggest names tied to the 2027 NFL Draft conversation.
Oregon brought senior pocket passer Dante Moore, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback who has become one of the sport’s most closely watched prospects. Last season, when he took over as the starter, Moore threw for 3,565 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while also scoring twice on the ground. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that NFL executives and scouts believe Moore is the top quarterback for the upcoming draft next April.
Against Oklahoma State, Moore completed 14 of 29 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns in No. 6 Oregon’s 39-31 loss.
On the other side was Drew Mestemaker, another pocket passer who transferred from North Texas to Oklahoma State to follow head coach Eric Morris. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound redshirt sophomore has built serious draft buzz of his own.
A year ago, he led college football with 4,379 passing yards and added 34 touchdown passes against nine interceptions, while also running for five scores. At season’s end, he won the 2025 Burlsworth Trophy as the top player in college football who started his career as a walk-on, and he was named American Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Mestemaker turned in a strong performance in the Cowboys’ win, going 26-for-43 for 317 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He also carried six times for 109 yards and a touchdown.
For Atlanta, seeing both quarterbacks in the same game gives the franchise a clearer look at potential options if it eventually decides to move on from Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr., the 2024 first-round pick who remains in the mix to lead the offense during the 2026 NFL season.
The questions at quarterback are only growing. Cooper Rush is set to start in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers after Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury mid-game week, and Penix is still working his way back from a torn left ACL suffered last November. Rush is also dealing with back spasms heading into the opener.
Ryan and Cunningham had more than quarterbacks to evaluate, too. Oregon also features two more projected first-rounders in defensive lineman A’Mauri Washington and tight end Jamari Johnson, according to the NFL Mock Draft Database. Oklahoma State has its own mid-round names to monitor, including wide receiver Wyatt Young and running back Caleb Hawkins.
Atlanta’s road to figuring out its 2027 draft position begins Sunday, Sept. 13, when it opens the 2026 NFL season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. on FOX.
The stakes are simple: the better the record, the lower the pick. If the Falcons stumble again - and the quarterback situation stays unsettled - they could be in position to chase their next signal-caller much sooner than they’d like.
Atlanta has been in the top 10 of the draft seven times in the last 15 years, with Penix as the most recent example two years ago.
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Falcons Enter Week 1 Already Fighting To Keep Offense Together
The Falcons are heading into Week 1 with an offense already patched together, as injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. have pushed Cooper Rush into the starting quarterback role against the Steelers. With the depth chart thinned out in more than one spot, Atlanta has even had to get creative with roster coverage, naming Olamide Zaccheaus as an emergency third-string quarterback and running back.
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Falcons Pass Rush Suddenly Puts Cameron Thomas Under Real Pressure
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Za'Darius Smith is still part of the mix, but he is working his way back into football shape after stepping away last season, which makes the early workload around him more interesting. For Thomas, the chance is real and immediate, and the way Atlanta handles that edge rotation will say plenty about how ready it thinks this pass rush is right now. [Read more 🡒]