Falcons See Little Movement in Post-NFL Draft Power Rankings

The Atlanta Falcons appeared to mortgage the future for the prospects they added in the 2025 NFL Draft. If those picks become stars or solid contributors, then the draft capital traded away to acquire them will be forgotten.

But NFL power rankings from a few different outlets this week have cast doubt over whether the Falcons will move the needle at all with their new draft class.

NFL.com's Eric Edholm placed the Falcons at No. 21 overall on his post-draft power rankings Tuesday. With that position, the Falcons remained in the exact same place where they were before the draft.

"I didn't like the trade up and selection of edge rusher James Pearce Jr. in the moment, and even some time passing and dust settling have yet to make me see the light of that aggressive first-round move. It felt like an unnecessarily bold selection, even while adding another layer of pass-rush talent (which was a big need)," Edholm wrote. "I hope I am proven wrong on that, believe it or not. Some of the Falcons' picks actually got me a little excited, especially given where they got LB/edge Jalon Walker(15th overall) and S Xavier Watts (96th).

"Other decisions, like doubling up at safety and not crossing off a few other checklist items, had me scratching my head. And they still need to sort out the Kirk Cousins situation. Atlanta has the potential to make noise next season if Michael Penix Jr. takes a big leap forward, but I don't know if I am fully on board yet."

According to Edholm, the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints didn't improve their position in the league through the draft either. But the gap between the Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers widened.

The Buccaneers moved up two spots to No. 7 on Edholm's power rankings.

The Falcons were also in the bottom half of the league on post-draft power rankings lists from The Athletic and Bleacher Report.

"The Falcons needed edge rushers and defensive backs and got two of each, but they traded away next year’s first-round pick and fifth-round pick to get the ones they wanted," wrote The Athletic's Josh Kendall. "If Walker and James Pearce Jr. fix the pass rush finally, and if safety Xavier Watts can compete for starting snaps, it’ll be worth it. If not, Atlanta will miss the playoffs for an eighth straight season."

Kendall ranked Atlanta at No. 24 overall. That was ahead of the Panthers and Saints, but the Buccaneers sat at No. 12 on Kendall's list.

Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport rated the Falcons No. 19 overall on his post-draft power rankings.

"Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. can be the difference in the Falcons finally pulling themselves out of the muck of mediocrity and actually compete for a division title and possibly more.," wrote Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski. "The offense has had significant talent for years.

"Now, Atlanta finally understood the assignment and loaded up on defensive talent during the 2025 NFL draft, with Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. bringing legitimate pass-rush juice."

The Panthers and Saints were at the bottom of the barrel in the entire league on that list too. But the Buccaneers were ranked in the top 10.

If these draft analysts are correct, and the Falcons don't see any tangible improvement in 2025 after aggressively adding two edge rushers and two defensive backs in the 2025 NFL Draft, it's hard imagining key members of the Atlanta organization still having jobs next year.