Falcons Low in Yahoo Sports Latest NFL Power Rankings

Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab has been releasing his offseason power rankings one day at a time, from the 32nd-best team in the NFL to the top team. Tuesday, he ranked the Atlanta Falcons 21st in the league. 

He doesn’t specifically state why he ranked the Falcons where they are, but there are some clear indicators throughout his piece. 

Schwab gives the Falcons a C for their offseason letter grade. He thinks Jeff Ulbrich might help the defense, but he criticizes Atlanta’s move for pass rusher James Pearce Jr, calling it an “overpay.”

“The Falcons' huge trade up to draft James Pearce Jr. in the first round was widely criticized (the front office must be used to that by now). The Falcons overpaid, giving up 2025 second- and seventh-round picks as well as next year's first-round pick to the Rams for the 26th overall pick,” Schwab wrote.

The Falcons gave up a lot, but people forget how poor the pass rush was for the Falcons before the bye week. Atlanta had registered just 10 sacks in the first 11 games of the season, not even one sack per game. They desperately needed help with disrupting the quarterback, and this offseason, they went all in on getting that done. They drafted Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr, as well as signing Leonard Floyd in free agency.

Schwab, however, did like the Walker pick, stating that it was “fantastic value” at 15. 

Schwab is also not the biggest fan of Penix, although he did say he saw the flashes of potential in the 24-year-old. 

“Michael Penix Jr isn’t a sure thing, and he had a long injury history in college, too,” Schwab wrote. 

It's evident that the Falcons still have a lot to prove before they can be ranked higher. A step forward from their young quarterback and getting a lot out of the guy they traded up for will help. Until that happens, those are key ifs that have to pan out.

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