The NFL's roster release deadline is officially less than a week away, and some difficult decisions are coming to the surface for the Atlanta Falcons. The position battles are coming to an end, and now that preseason action is nearing it's end, some players are making some late pushes for a roster spot.
The Falcons are just days away from their final preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, but the vibes in Flowery Branch are especially good following the 34-6 drubbing of the Indianapolis Colts. Kevin Stefanski's squad looked straight-up dominant, and some players helped their roster hopes.
So let's take a bit of a deeper dive down that rabbit hole and project what the Falcons' 53-man roster would look like if they had to whittle it down today. And spoiler alert, there are a lot more changes compared to the previous roster predictions I wrote up.
Assessing what the Atlanta Falcons' Week 1 roster will look like before the preseason finale
QBs: Michael Penix Jr., Tua Tagovailoa, Cooper Rush, Jack Strand (4)
For the first time in any of my roster predictions, there is a change at the quarterback position. Instead of rostering three quarterbacks, Atlanta holds onto four signal-callers come Week 1. There's the two obvious ones in Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, but instead of deciding between Jack Strand and Cooper Rush, both stick around.
Kevin Stefanski has rostered four quarterbacks Week 1 before, so this should be nothing new here. Strand is balling out to the point where the Falcons should not feel comfortable putting him on the practice squad, because he'd absolutely get poached, and the idea of losing him will force his hand.
But here's the complicated part: the undrafted rookie is more of a developmental piece. If Penix and Tua go down, Cooper Rush looked good against the Colts and keeping a veteran around in case of an Armageddon-type situation would be good faith, so they can't afford to let either of these guys go.
RBs: Bijan Robinson, Brian Robinson Jr., Tyler Goodson (3)
Nothing has changed on the running back front. if anything, things are getting more set in stone in this area. Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. are the 1-2 punch, but Tyler Goodson seems to be strengthening his lead over both Nate Carter and undrafted rookie Cash Jones in the RB3 battle.
Goodson logged six carries for 59 yards and a 49-yard rushing score against the Colts on Saturday, and is also operating as a primary return man. He's been a standout all summer long to this point, and it feels like this job is his to lose--which will only happen if he has a Georgia-sized meltdown in camp.
The other thing to note here is that Jones could be a player Atlanta stashes on the practice squad.
WRs: Drake London, Jahan Dotson, Olamide Zaccheus, Zachariah Branch, Chris Blair, Vinny Anthony II (6)
It's no secret that not four, but five roster spots for the Dirty Birds are on lock now: Drake London, Jahan Dotson, Olamide Zaccheus, Zachariah Branch, and now Chris Blair. Blair has been a standout throughout training camp, and he led the Falcons in receiving yards in their preseason opener.
His status feels safe, but the WR6 battle is still ongoing. Dylan Drummond, Vinny Anthony II, and Juice Wells Jr. are the main players here, but considering Anthony had a big day against the Colts and has also proven his value as a special teamer (and can be used the most creatively), I'll lean Vinny here.
TEs: Kyle Pitts, Austin Hooper, Charlie Woerner (3)
The tight end room is going to play a key role in this offense, but this is a very vet-centric room. For all of the ideas that they could roster more than three TEs with the amount of multi-TE sets they will employ, rostering a fourth quarterback came at the cost of that idea given the circumstances.
Obviously, Pitts isn't going anywhere, and Hooper was just signed. And for all of the talk that Charlie Woerner is a cut candidate, he's one of the best TE3s in the NFL. But Jack Velling has been promising this summer, and I hope he sticks around on the practice squad if he does get released.
OLs: Jake Matthews, Matthew Bergeron, Ryan Neuzil, Chris Lindstrom, Jawaan Taylor, Wanya Morris, Kyle Hinton, Corey Levin, Michael Jerrell (9)
The Falcons' boast one of the better offensive line rooms in football, so not much needs to change here. Matthews, Bergeron, Neuzil, Lindstrom, and Jawaan Taylor are not penciled in as the starters, you may as well use a Sharpie to denote that none of their jobs are in any sort of jeopardy currently.
But the backup jobs are more contentious. Wanya Morris isn't going anywhere after Atlanta acquired him, Kyle Hinton is the primary backup guard now that Kam Dewberry is hurt, Corey Levin is a Bill Callahan guy through and through, and Michael Jerrell had a very promising effort in Saturday's win.
The big change here is rostering Jerrell over rookie Ethan Onianwa, but in-game action has confirmed he needs more development, so to the practice squad he goes also.
EDGE: Za'Darius Smith, Samson Ebukam, Azeez Ojulari, Cameron Thomas, Bralen Trice (5)
After the big fuss that was the Za'Darius Smith signing, you know he's making the roster, even though he hasn't done much in practice yet. And likely starting opposite him will be another veteran in Samson Ebukam, while Azeez Ojulari, Cameron Thomas, and Bralen Trice take on rotational roles.
The interesting part here is that Trice is currently sidelined due to injury (again) and Ojulari has been pretty quiet this offseason, but neither of them seem to be in much danger. Thomas has been on the field most and solid, and he'll likely be relied on more with James Pearce Jr. suspended eight games.
IDLs: Brandon Dorlus, Maason Smith, Zach Harrison, Da'Shawn Hand, La'Cale London (5)
For all of the talk about Brandon Dorlus moving back to an edge role, for the sake of this roster prediction, he remains on the interior. But the DT rotation along with him is not subject to change, as Maason Smith, Zach Harrison, Da'Shawn Hand, and La'Cale London all but locked down their spots.
The interesting idea here is if Chris Williams will stick around since he's had a good summer, and frankly, if I didn't have four quarterbacks on here, he'd probably stick around. He's my first player off the roster, but I think the veteran can find his way back on the right side of the buble fairly easily.
LBs: Divine Deablo, Kendal Daniels, Harold Perkins Jr., Christian Harris, JD Bertrand (5)
This linebacker room was supposed to be the most interesting position battle, but that all went away when Troy Andersen got cut. Divine Deablo is safe as the new green dot, and there's no way the Falcons cut Kendal Daniels or Harold Perkins Jr. when the rookies have been standouts in practice.
They've been taking on more first-team reps, which has come at the expense of Christian Harris, the supposed LB2. And while his rough summer hasn't been ideal, he did enough to deem himself worthy of a roster spot against the Colts, as he led the defense in both PFF grade and tackling grade.
The tough one here was deciding between Josh Woods and JD Bertrand, as both are special teamers who are worthwhile depth pickups, but ultimately went with Bertrand since he's younger.
CBs: A.J. Terrell, Mike Hughes, Darnay Holmes, Avieon Terrell, C.J. Henderson, Clark Phillips III (6)
The cornerback room is starting to become more clear. It doesn't seem like Billy Bowman Jr. will start the year on anywhere but IR, so it offers room for Darnay Holmes to slot in as the starting nickel at the start of the year, with rookie Avieon Terrell pushing for that spot while he pushes Mike Hughes also.
Hughes and the Terrells are safe, which means two spots are up for grabs between C.J. Henderson, Clark Phillips III, and Cobee Bryant. And for the second straight year, this is a losing battle for Bryant, as both Phillips III and Henderson have had better summers and stick around for Atlanta in 2026.
S: Jessie Bates III, Xavier Watts, Sydney Brown, DeMarcco Hellams (4)
Okay, I lied, The running back room is NOT the most set in stone position on the roster. The safety room is. Jessie Bates III and Xavier Watts are the NFL's best safety duo when they're both healthy, so they're also set starters, and there's no way Sydney Brown gets cut after the summer he has had.
Brown can also play nickel corner, and his versatility is more important than Natrone Brooks' given the draft capital they parted with to acquire him. And while Bates has been banged up, DeMarcco Hellams has been starting, and has performed pretty well, so there's no reason to let him go easy.
STs: Nick Folk, Jake Bailey, Liam McCullough (3)
Lastly, but most certainly not least: the special teams. Craig Aukerman has his guys in Folk and Bailey, and Liam McCullough's spot is also on lock after Phil Florenzo was cut.
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