Nick Wright isn’t shy about leaning into a bold prediction, and his latest NFC South call is already getting dragged online.
On Thursday’s episode of “First Things First,” the Fox Sports host laid out his playoff picks for the NFC divisions. He had Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking the NFC South, which isn’t exactly a shocking choice given Tampa Bay has won the division four out of the past five seasons.
The part that turned heads was Wright’s belief that Atlanta could also crash the playoff field.
“The Atlanta Falcons, my deep sleeper, sneaking into the playoffs at 9-8,” Wright said. “I think Michael Penix will end up being the starting quarterback.
I think Atlanta is going to start off a little rough, I do think that. I’m holding out hope for Penix, I think Bijan [Robinson] might be No. 1 in the NFL Top 100 next year, and I think Kevin Stefanski is maybe an unbelievable coach.”
That take didn’t land well with a lot of NFL fans, including plenty who follow the Falcons closely. Social media lit up with pushback, with one fan arguing, “Falcons lose both starting edges.
Lose all their DL depth. Lose their starting qb (Kirk better than both they got rn),”
Another added, “Falcons literally suck everywhere not skill positions. But ofc that’s all Nick sees and somehow their making the playoffs and the Panthers finish 4th in Division.”
Others zeroed in on the idea that two NFC South teams could make the postseason. “This is one of the worst takes I’ve seen about this season lmao. Panthers twitter gon head and bookmark it,” one fan wrote.
“I think picking 2 teams from the nfc south to make the playoffs is the wildest part of this video,” another fan said.
And one Falcons fan didn’t hold back either: “This is not a serious reporter if he thinks ATL wins more than 4 games. We will be so bad this year & miss the playoffs for the 9th straight season,”
There is talent on the Falcons’ roster, but there are also real questions hanging over the team. The source notes concern about Bijan Robinson having to carry an offense with two injury-prone quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa. On defense, Atlanta has already lost second-year pass rusher Jalon Walker to a torn ACL, while James Pearce Jr., who had 10.5 sacks in 2025, will miss eight games after violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Oddsmakers aren’t buying into Wright’s optimism either. They have Kevin Stefanski’s squad at +400 to win the NFC South.
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