The Atlanta Falcons have one of the strongest young cores in the NFL. There's no way around that. They just don't have a quarterback.
However, ESPN's Seth Walder, Ben Solak, Louis Riddick, and Aaron Schatz placed Atlanta at No. 27 in its Future Power Rankings, putting the Falcons last in the NFC South and ahead of only five other teams in the entire NFL.Â
The thing is, the ranking is supposed to project which teams are best positioned from 2027 through 2029, making Atlanta's placement particularly surprising given the amount of young talent already on the roster.
Solak pointed out that other teams ranked above Atlanta would "do anything" for the Falcons' trio of running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts. That's quite an endorsement of a team sitting at No. 27.
The Atlanta Falcons' QB woes keep complicating their long-term outlook
Robinson alone is one of the strongest reasons to question this ranking. The former first-round pick led the NFL with 115 broken or forced missed tackles last season, according to ESPN's Aaron Schatz. Atlanta also finished second in the league as a team in that category.
London and Pitts give Atlanta two more young offensive building blocks. The Falcons have already invested heavily in both, but the reason they're so low is because of their quarterback problem
Michael Penix Jr. is still working his way back from a torn ACL and hasn't been cleared for full team drills. Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa entered the summer as his competition and has already dealt with an injury during training camp.
That's a legit concern sure, but the Falcons don't need to have their quarterback situation completely figured out today for this roster to eventually become a contender.
Atlanta has an expensive young offensive core, promising young defenders and a new coaching staff that could help put those pieces together. The quarterback situation is the swing factor, and ESPN is right to be concerned about it. But all they need to do is hit on it to increase this ranking.
Still, the way I see it, the Falcons have too much talent everywhere else for No. 27 to feel comfortable. Besides, if this is a list about their outlook between 2027 and 2029, they can draft a rookie in 2027, still have this talented young core on offense, and have a QB who works perfectly into their timeline.
The 2027-29 projection could look very different if Atlanta finally gets the quarterback position right, which could happen in the 2027 NFL Draft... And considering how much of this roster is already in place, the Falcons may have a much better chance of making that jump than this ranking suggests.
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