ESPN gives a bold prediction for the Atlanta Falcons

The NFL season has arrived, with the Eagles and Cowboys kicking off the 2025 campaign on Thursday night. The Chiefs and Chargers will continue the festivities on Friday, and on Sunday, the Falcons will take the field for the first time.

2025 feels like a make it or break it type of year for a lot of people in Atlanta. Terry Fontenot has been the general manager of the Falcons for four seasons and has yet to make the postseason. It’s hard to imagine him getting to a sixth if Atlanta falls short again this year. Raheem Morris’ seat is not much cooler, and the leash on Michael Penix probably isn’t as long as it should be. That’s just the nature of the NFL — even if Falcons owner Arthur Blank is typically more patient than most.

When thinking of potential bold predictions for the Falcons, there’s no shortage of avenues one could go. Michael Penix could take the reins of Atlanta’s offense and turn it into one of the best in the NFL. The bones are in place, as the Falcons feature an above average offensive line and one of the best skill position groups in the league. All they have been missing is the quarterback, and the people inside the building have a lot of belief that Penix is that guy.

Defensively, Atlanta could also be in for a meteoric rise. This was one of the worst units in the league a season ago, but there’s a lot more optimism about the group heading into Week 1.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who has a wealth of NFL experience, takes over for Jimmy Lake, who was clearly in over his head last season — his first as an NFL DC. The Falcons also brought in a slew of new faces, including four rookies, all of whom are expected to play significant roles immediately. Depending on their impact, it’s reasonable to expect this defense could go from a bottom five unit to above average in an instant.

However, when cooking up his bold prediction for the Falcons 2025 campaign, ESPN’s Seth Walder didn’t focus on the obvious areas of improvement. Instead, he went to the middle of the offensive line and highlighted the one player that was not a starter last season — Ryan Neuzil.

“Center Ryan Neuzil will rank in the top five in run block win rate,” Walder writes. “In 547 snaps last season, he posted a 71% RBWR (ninth best at center), and some unpublished work I did this offseason measuring the vertical push of offensive linemen on run plays reflected very favorably on Neuzil.”

Neuzil is taking over at center for Drew Dalman, who signed a lucrative contract with the Bears in free agency. It was a deal the Falcons probably could have matched, but in deciding not to, they hitched their wagon to the former undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State, who started eight games last season in place of Dalman. In those eight games, the Falcons managed to go 5-3.

If there’s no drop-off this season at center with Neuzil, Terry Fontenot should be praised for deciding against paying Dalman top dollar and replacing his production for a fraction of the price.