Atlanta Falcons In for Rough Year According to Fox Sports NFL Power Rankings

NFL Reporter Ralph Vacchino released his mid-training camp NFL rankings on Monday, and the Atlanta Falcons are ranked in the bottom half of the league. Atlanta comes in at No. 25 in Vacchino’s list; however, they are above two NFC South counterparts: the New Orleans Saints (No. 31) and Carolina Panthers (No. 28).

There are two reasons for Atlanta’s low ranking: Vacchino is not sold on Michael Penix Jr, and he thinks Atlanta added nothing on the offensive side of the ball to help the second-year quarterback.

“But the bigger issue may be that it’s unclear what they really have in Penix. He went 1-2 as a starter, losing both his games in overtime, and directed an offense that averaged 32 points,” Vacchino wrote.

“It was exciting, but it was also against three low-ranked defenses, and he still only completed 58.1 percent of his passes. There’s a lot of work to do, and the Falcons added nothing on offense in the offseason to help him out.”

Penix's accuracy issues were definitely a concern last season. However, he also had eight big-time throws in three games, the second most in the NFL from weeks 16-18. Penix also took no snaps with the first team offense until the week he was announced the starter against the New York Giants.

An offseason of reps and chemistry will certainly help Penix’s accuracy numbers go up. Drake London told the media last Thursday that Penix and the rest of the offensive weapon group have gotten together outside of practice to “throw the football around”.

It also makes sense that Atlanta did not add to their offense. As Vacchino himself pointed out, the team scored 32 points per game under Michael Penix Jr. Per Pro Football Focus, they had the 2nd highest graded offense in 2024, and were in the top half of the league in points scored with 389.

Penix has a veteran offensive line, a great running back duo, a great wide receiver duo, a tight end with tremendous potential, and a solid third wide receiver. Leading a team that averaged 32 points to a 1-2 record speaks of problems on the other side of the ball. 

Atlanta did add a lot to their defense, which Vacchino fails to point out. The Falcons signed Leonard Floyd to a one-year, $10 million contract in free agency to replace Lorenzo Carter, who hung up his cleats this summer. They also upgraded at linebacker by bringing in Divine Deablo to replace Nate Landman, who was allowed to walk as a free agent.  

They drafted edge rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. in the first round of the draft. They added safety Xavier Watts and nickel back Billy Bowman in the later rounds, both of whom will be competing for starting positions. 

A pass rush that was 31st in sacks last season and 31st in quarterback pressure and still won eight games is adding three entirely new faces to the pass rushing room, not to mention will have a third-round pick returning to the rotation in Bralen Trice, who is still working his way back from injury. 

Vacchino is skeptical of Atlanta, which is fair; however, his reasoning seems disingenuous.