What is the direction of this team? And is it already too late to not have a definitive answer?
As the dust settles and the first week of free agency comes to a close, the 2025 NFL landscape begins to become a bit clearer. Now, there are a few key dominoes that still need to fall into place: Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers still need to figure out where they’re playing football, and the Cincinnati Bengals have to reach a verdict on what to do about Trey Hendrickson.
For the most part, though, the big moves are all done and the directions for most of the NFL teams are set. That gave Pro Football Network a perfect opportunity to drop their Post-Free Agency power rankings, outlining where each team lies as we inch closer to the NFL draft.
For the Atlanta Falcons, there have been more questions than answers about the direction of the franchise. How aggressive can they truly be with a question mark at quarterback? With their limited resources, how much can they overhaul a defense that finished in mediocre fashion in terms of both EPA allowed (20th) and defensive success rate (24th)
Pro Football Network’s Kyle Soppe had similar questions about this peculiar Falcons team, driving them toward the bottom of these rankings at 19th. They were also 2nd in the NFC South behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7th) and a disappointing 12th in the NFC.
According to the power rankings, the Falcons finish behind these teams in the NFC:
- Detroit Lions (2nd)
- Philadelphia Eagles (4th)
- Washington Commanders (6th)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7th)
- Green Bay Packers (8th)
- Los Angeles Rams (11th)
- Minnesota Vikings (12th)
- Arizona Cardinals (13th)
- Chicago Bears (15th)
- San Francisco 49ers (17th) and the
- Seattle Seahawks (18th).
There’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Michael Penix Jr.
The No. 8 overall pick in 2024, Penix only attempted 105 passes as a rookie — most of them against weaker competition. That means we still don’t really know what the Falcons have in him.
What we do know is that their defense regressed significantly, dropping from 11th in 2023 to 29th in 2024.
The Atlanta Falcons remained competitive last season, with six of their nine losses coming by one score. That suggests they could be a surprise playoff team if Penix develops quickly — especially in a weaker NFC South.
2025 is a year where questions have to be answered as far as the direction of the team, Penix being first among them.
The middle class of the NFC is stacked up with teams waiting for the right moment to pounce on a title opportunity. The Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings, and even the Dallas Cowboys are all potential playoff contenders that are taking steps to becoming actual contenders in the conference.
Okay, maybe not Dallas as much, but the point still stands. Atlanta is in danger of being left behind in a conference that refuses to wait for them to get the roster together; they really need their defensive moves to hit and Penix to be as special as his talent suggests he can be.
If this front office isn’t careful, they could find themselves much closer to a full-on rebuild then a re-tooling around the promising rookie quarterback. If that happens, who knows when the next playoff berth could be for the Falcons and their already disgruntled fanbase.