Atlanta Falcons
Projected Cap Space: $24.6 million
Draft Picks: 5
- 2nd (No. 48)
- 3rd (No. 79)
- 4th (No. 114)
- 6th (No. 195)
- 7th (No. 231)
Notable Free Agents:
- TE Kyle Pitts
- LB Kaden Elliss
- RB Tyler Allgeier
- OL Elijah Wilkinson
- CB Dee Alford
- DT David Onyemata
- OLB Arnold Ebiketie
- OLB Leonard Floyd
- P Bradley Pinion
- K Zane Gonzalez
- LB Troy Andersen
- S Ronnie Harrison
- DT LaCale London (RFA)
- DT Kentavius Street
- WR David Sills (RFA)
- WR Malik Heath (RFA)
Top Three Needs
1 – Edge Rusher
There is a whole process that will still need to play out for Falcons OLB James Pearce Jr. following his arrest on several domestic violence charges, both in the court of law and in an NFL investigation that won’t begin until after a legal resolution. But the initial details present a disturbing picture. Whether it’s the commissioner’s exempt list, a suspension or even jail time, the Falcons face the prospect of not having Pearce on the field for a while.
That makes edge rusher a big need yet again for Atlanta despite coming off a year in which it set a new franchise record with 57 sacks. Pearce had 10.5 of those to lead the team. Fellow first-round OLB Jalon Walker had a solid debut with 5.5, but with the rest of the rotation in Floyd and Ebiketie slated for free agency, help is needed. If nothing else, Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich needs more bodies at edge rusher.
2 – Wide Receiver
The Falcons don’t necessarily lack weapons in the passing game but injuries exposed a real lack of depth at receiver specifically last season. Veteran WR Darnell Mooney broke his collarbone in camp and the injury ended up derailing his entire season. He never looked comfortable, struggling to carve out a consistent role in the offense a year after topping 1,000 yards in his first season in Atlanta. The Falcons could save $12 million in cash and $7.4 million in cap space by cutting Mooney.
When top WR Drake London dealt with a knee injury late in the season, Mooney had an opportunity to step up. Instead, it was Sills — a journeyman for the last eight years who’s best known for getting offered a scholarship to play quarterback for Lane Kiffin at USC when he was in seventh grade — who was Atlanta’s leading wideout. Even if the passing game is going to be routed through London, Pitts (a strong candidate for the franchise tag) and RB Bijan Robinson, the Falcons need more than just London in the receiving corps.
3 – Tackle
Cornerback could stand to get some attention, as the guy across from top CB AJ Terrell is always going to get a healthy amount of looks. But the Falcons are going to build around the offensive line up front and it’s important for their outlook to keep that strength strong. Both starting tackles are on the far side of 30 this year, including Jake Matthews (34) and Kaleb McGary (31). McGary missed the entire 2025 season with a left leg injury, one which the Falcons haven’t shared any details on besides saying it was to his “lower” leg.
The assumption is that McGary will just slot right back in since he’ll have had a whole year to rehab. If that proves not to be the case, the Falcons need a new starting right tackle. Their insurance policy last year, Wilkinson, is slated to be a free agent, though Atlanta could probably keep him without over-extending. Beyond that, the Falcons need to start developing some in-house solutions for when Matthews and McGary do decide to hang up the cleats.
One Big Question
Is new HC Kevin Stefanski the missing ingredient?
Last year was the Falcons’ eighth-straight losing season. It’s a stretch that encompasses three different head coaches (Dan Quinn, Arthur Smith and Raheem Morris) and five different Week 1 starting quarterbacks (Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr.). Yet the team catches a break in the national conversation because they’ve been hovering at respectability for a while. The Falcons have been below seven wins just once in that time and for five straight years.
It’s clearly not been good enough for owner Arthur Blank, who cleaned house despite a strong finish to last season. He brought in Ryan to run the front office and Stefanski as the coach. Those will be the two biggest changes as the roster projects to be largely the same as it’s been the past few years.
Blank’s big bet is on Stefanski to elevate the Falcons to contending status. The two-time Coach of the Year winner saw his tenure in Cleveland expire this past year, and the Falcons quickly snapped him up. Stefanski tended to do more with less during his time with the Browns, so it’ll be fascinating to see how he fares with a Falcons team that is unquestionably more talented.
Quarterback problems submarined his time with the Browns, though, and he’s not out of the woods with the Falcons who are still unsure if Penix can be a long-term solution as he recovers from a torn ACL. That said, if Penix fails, it probably won’t be held against Stefanski, and he’ll have a chance to pick his own quarterback. Hopefully for the Falcons it goes better than when Stefanski was part of a group decision that landed on Deshaun Watson.
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