- Quarterback competition takes center stage: Michael Penix Jr. is returning from a season-ending knee injury, giving Tua Tagovailoa the early edge after Atlanta added him this offseason.
- Wide receiver depth is a concern: Drake London remains the clear No. 1 option, but Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus each posted PFF receiving grades below 60.0 in 2025.
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After a difficult start to the 2025 season left them at 4-9 through 13 games, the Atlanta Falcons won their final four contests to finish tied for the best record in the NFC South, ultimately placing third on tiebreakers. Atlanta responded with sweeping changes, hiring Kevin Stefanski as its new head coach and adding Tua Tagovailoa to create competition at quarterback.
Here is our 2026 preview for the Atlanta Falcons.
Key Free Agency/Trade Additions
| Position | Player | 2025 PFF Grade |
|---|---|---|
| WR | Jahan Dotson | 54.1 |
| WR | Olamide Zaccheaus | 55.7 |
| OT | Wanya Morris | 57.1 |
| OT | Jawaan Taylor | 53.3 |
| TE | Austin Hooper | 65.3 |
| QB | Tua Tagovailoa | 62.1 |
| QB | Trevor Siemian | N/A |
| RB | Brian Robinson | 66.7 |
| DI | Chris Williams | 58.7 |
| DI | Maason Smith | 49.1 |
| DI | Da’Shawn Hand | 59.3 |
| EDGE | Samson Ebukam | 64.1 |
| EDGE | Azeez Ojulari | 62.5 |
| LB | Christian Harris | 54.8 |
| S | Sidney Brown | 60.0 |
| P | Jake Bailey | 75.1 |
| K | Nick Folk | 91.3 |
Outside of Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, the signing of right tackle Jawaan Taylor could have the biggest impact on Atlanta’s offense. Kaleb McGary retired after missing the entire 2025 season due to injury, leaving a significant hole along the offensive line. McGary earned a 73.8 PFF overall grade in 2024 and was always a stronger run blocker than pass protector, but Taylor provides a solid replacement after earning PFF pass-blocking grades of 69.5 and 67.3 over the past two seasons.
Nick Folk will turn 42 during the 2026 season, but his performance has continued to improve. He has set career highs in PFF field goal grade in each of the past two seasons, including a 91.3 mark in 2025 that ranked seventh in the NFL. Folk missed just one kick all season and was perfect from inside 50 yards.
2026 NFL Draft Class
| Position | Player | 2025 PFF Grade |
|---|---|---|
| CB | Avieon Terrell | 83.5 |
| WR | Zachariah Branch | 82.0 |
| LB | Kendal Daniels | 77.4 |
| DI | Anterio Thompson | 76.0 |
| LB | Harold Perkins | 62.4 |
| OT | Ethan Onianwa | 58.2 |
Cornerback Avieon Terrell’s draft stock tumbled after a rough workout that included a 4.64-second 40-yard dash, leading to him still being available when the Falcons came on the clock in the second round. His college production paints a more encouraging picture, as Terrell earned PFF coverage grades above 75.0 in all three seasons and never allowed 400 or more receiving yards in coverage in a single year.
Wide receiver Zachariah Branch was productive in his final season at Georgia, averaging 2.57 yards per route run and forcing 20 missed tackles on 81 receptions. His average depth of target was just 3.6 yards, though, with 51 of his targets coming behind the line of scrimmage. Branch still produced when given opportunities downfield, catching all five of his targets 20 or more yards downfield, making his usage in the NFL fascinating to watch given his college target profile.
Reasons for optimism
Bijan Robinson remains one of the best running backs in football and is coming off a season in which he forced 86 missed tackles — 19 more than any other player at the position during the 2025 regular season. He also became a bigger factor in the passing game, averaging 1.88 yards per route run.
Reason for pessimism
The Falcons signed wide receiver Drake London to a long-term extension this offseason, with the former first-round pick out of USC having earned a PFF receiving grade above 85.0 in three of his first four NFL seasons. Despite missing time in 2025, London still earned an 89.9 PFF receiving grade, racked up 919 receiving yards and averaged 2.34 yards per route run.
The concern is that Atlanta doesn’t have much else to get excited about at the position. Free-agent additions Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus both earned PFF receiving grades below 60.0 and averaged fewer than 1.00 yards per route run in 2025.
They do have Kyle Pitts at tight end and Bijan Robinson at running back, who combined for 213 targets last year, but don’t be shocked to see rookie third-round draft pick Zachariah Brand finish fourth on this team in targets.
Breakout Candidate
Left guard Matthew Bergeron enters the final season of his rookie contract with an opportunity to earn a significant payday with a strong 2026 campaign. He has already played more than 3,000 snaps in his career and has earned PFF overall grades above 70.0 in back-to-back seasons.
Bergeron has consistently graded better as a run blocker than in pass protection, but he has also earned PFF pass-blocking grades above 65.0 in each of the past two seasons. He allowed 28 pressures across 519 pass-blocking snaps in 2025.
Key roster battles
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. regressed in his second NFL season, with his PFF overall grade dropping from 87.9 across 230 snaps as a rookie to 59.3 across 553 snaps before a season-ending knee injury in 2025. There are no guarantees he will return in time for the start of the regular season, giving Tua Tagovailoa the early edge in the quarterback competition.
Tagovailoa also regressed in 2025, with his 62.1 PFF overall grade marking a career low. If Atlanta can get the 2023 version of Tagovailoa, who led the NFL with an 88.6 PFF passing grade and tied for seventh with a 5.8% big-time throw rate, Penix may not see the field in his third NFL season. Given what both quarterbacks have shown recently, though, it’s very possible that each starts multiple games in 2026.
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