The NFC South already feels like a division without a clear script, and the Falcons might be the team with the widest range of endings.
Carolina is the defending division champ. Tampa Bay has been one of the NFC South’s steadiest teams in recent years.
New Orleans closed 2025 by winning four of its final five games. That leaves Atlanta, a team that finished 8-9 last season, sitting in the middle of the conversation and maybe not getting enough attention.
That may not last long. The Falcons have a new head coach, an interesting quarterback battle and enough talent to swing the whole race one way or the other.
They could separate from the pack. They could also land at the bottom of it.
What makes Atlanta so hard to pin down is the mix of real strengths and real unknowns. Bijan Robinson gives the offense an elite centerpiece, and the defense still has enough quality to matter in this division.
There are holes, though. The defense has to deal with the departures of Kaden Elliss, Arnold Ebiketie and David Onyemata.
Even so, the secondary gives Jeff Ulbrich a strong base, with Jessie Bates III, Xavier Watts and A.J. Terrell all in place.
The biggest swing factor is what Kevin Stefanski can do with the offense, and who ends up running it.
That uncertainty is part of what makes Atlanta so relevant in a division that was already razor-thin last season. Carolina won the NFC South at 8-9 after a three-way tiebreaker over the Buccaneers and Falcons. In other words, there wasn’t much space between these teams then, and there still doesn’t appear to be now.
Atlanta doesn’t have to enter as the favorite to matter. It just has to be good enough to capitalize on how open the division looks.
If the quarterback situation settles quickly, Stefanski gets the offense rolling and the defense holds up despite the losses up front, the Falcons have a path to pushing for the division. If that doesn’t happen, they could wind up right back in the familiar middle ground, stuck around .500 while somebody else takes the opening.
That’s the story with Atlanta right now: plenty of talent, plenty of questions and no clear answer yet. In a division this unsettled, that makes the Falcons one of the most important teams to watch.
In Other News...
Falcons QB Picture Just Got More Complicated After Jack Strands Debut
The Falcons added former Pro Bowl edge rusher Za'Darius Smith, but the bigger subplot coming out of their preseason game against the Broncos was under center. Atlanta did not get much from its quarterbacks overall, yet undrafted rookie Jack Strand was the one who came away with the best showing among the group in his NFL debut, giving the team at least one unexpected name to keep in the conversation.
Strands performance was modest on the stat sheet, but the broader takeaway was that he handled the moment well enough to draw notice from Kevin Stefanski, who liked the rookies attitude and sees something to build on. With Michael Penix still in the mix as a potential starter once healthy, the Falcons suddenly have a quarterback picture that feels a little less settled than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Roster Battle Just Got Real In Joint Practices With Colts
The Falcons moved straight from a preseason loss to Denver into joint practices with the Colts, and the timing gives the next few days a different kind of urgency. These sessions are less about the scoreboard than about sorting out the roster, with Atlanta using the work against Indianapolis to sharpen its preparation for the regular season opener while giving coaches a better look at players fighting for roles.
That puts a few names squarely in the spotlight, including linebacker Josh Woods, wide receiver Vinny Anthony II, offensive lineman Kam Dewberry, safety Jammie Robinson and quarterback Jack Strand. For all of them, the Colts work is a chance to make a stronger case on the depth chart, and the Falcons will come away with a clearer sense of where the competition stands once the practices are over. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Strand Hype Is Creating A Falcons Debate Fans Need
Jack Strands first preseason outing gave Falcons fans a little jolt at a position that has been under a microscope all summer. The undrafted rookie looked steady enough to keep his name in the conversation for the QB3 job, and in a camp shaped by injuries at the top of the depth chart, that alone has been enough to spark a bigger discussion about what he might become.
The temptation is obvious in Atlanta, where any encouraging quarterback glimpse can get wrapped in long-term hope pretty quickly. But Strand still profiles as a developmental project more than an answer to the franchises bigger questions, and the safer read right now is that his rise is about earning a role, not redefining the position room. [Read more 🡒]