Grading Atlanta Falcons Position Groups ahead of Training Camp

To help lessen Robinson’s workload, the Falcons brought in Brian Robinson Jr. to replace Tyler Allgeier. Brian Robinson Jr. is no slouch either. He has an average of over four yards per carry in his four-year NFL career and is a viable option out of the backfield as well. He is a solid backup option for Bijan Robinson. 

Having the best player at a position is going to give you an A grade, but also adding a solid backup behind him is what gives the Falcons an A+ running back room. The Robinsons will help relieve some pressure off whoever the quarterback is,. 

Wide Receivers: C+

Drake London headlines a Falcons' wide receiver room that could have a huge effect on Atlanta’s season. This position has arguably seen the most change from last season to this one. Outside of Drake London, the Falcons return just 7 receptions for 42 yards in production, all of which come from Dylan Drummond. 

The lack of returning production is not necessarily a bad thing, as the Falcons' wide receiver room was not very good outside of London last season. London will still be the main target, and his large frame and strong hands make him an excellent WR1. It is in the rest of the group where a ton of questions remain. 

Jahan Dotson will likely be the starting Z receiver opposite of London. Dotson has not seen a ton of individual success in a crowded Philadelphia system that did not play to his strengths. However, he is a Super Bowl champion, and his elite speed will give the Falcons a deep ball threat that they were missing last season. 

Olamide Zaccheaus and rookie Zachariah Branch will be the team's options at slot receiver. Zaccheaus is a reliable veteran option who has built a seven-year career out of the slot. Branch is a dynamite stick. He possesses elite speed and rare elusiveness, making him a huge threat with the ball in his hands. It will be great for him to learn from Zaccheaus as he builds his skills as a wide receiver, but he will be featured early on as both a returner and gadget guy. 

The rest of the wide receiver room is where things fall off. Nobody else in the room is proven or very exciting in any way. It's a modge podge of unproven young guys and journeymen, not who you want to be relying on. 

Overall, the Falcons' receiver room has a really good headliner in London and a decent, even if unproven, supporting cast, but the room lacks depth, and that is why they come in with a C+ grade

Tight Ends: B+

The Falcons' tight end room features a great mix of skills. Kyle Pitts offers great pass-catching and downfield ability, Charlie Woerner is an elite blocker, and Austin Hooper is the veteran presence who can do a little of everything. 

Pitts is the main attraction of the tight end room. At 6-foot-6, with 4.4 speed, Pitts can be a difficult matchup for both linebackers and safeties. He led the team last season with 928 receiving yards, and after receiving a big payday, he will look to improve on a solid season last year. 

To go along with Pitts, Woerner and Hooper are both very solid secondary and tertiary pieces at the position. Hooper, who had his best seasons with the Falcons in the late 2010s, returns to the team for his 11th season. His all-around ability and veteran presence should help boost this room. Woerner, although limited as a pass catcher, has made a career for himself as a blocking tight end. He enters his seventh season and third with the Falcons, and will mainly be featured in heavy personnel groups. 

With Pitts as the main target and solid options behind him who complement his weaknesses, the Falcons come in with a solid B+ grade at the position. 

Offensive Line: B

The Falcons return four of their five starters on the offensive line from last season. This was an offensive line that gave up the fourth-fewest sacks and had a running back in Bijan Robinson who was well above average in yards before contact. 

Chris Lindstrom gives the group top-end talent as one of the best guards in the league, and Jake Matthews provides consistency and veteran leadership with his 196 consecutive starts. Matthew Bergeron and Ryan Neuzil are both solid options on the interior offensive line. 

With all of that being said, one would think they deserve a higher grade than a B. However, the Falcons' weakest position on the offensive line is also their most important. With two injury-prone left-handed quarterbacks, the Falcons' right tackle position is probably the most important in the league. However, after the surprise retirement of Kaleb McGary, the Falcons had to scramble and ended up signing Jawaan Taylor to fill the position. 

Taylor is a decent pass blocker, but is a subpar run blocker and has been the most penalized player in the league since he was drafted in 2019. 

Swing tackle Storm Norton is out another season with a troublesome ankle injury, so the team also signed Wanya Morris to add to the team's mediocre depth at the position. 

Overall, the Falcons' offensive line unit is consistently ranked around the 8-12 mark in the league, and their grade would be higher if the weakest position wasn’t also the most important one. 

Defensive Line: B

The Falcons were finally able to put together an elite pass rush last season after struggling for years to get after the passer. They finished second in the league with 57 sacks on the year, thanks to some great performances from rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker, who combined for 16 sacks, finishing first and second in the rookie sack leaders. 

The two of them will once again headline the pass rush alongside Brandon Dorlus, who finished with 8.5 sacks last season, leading all NFC interior defensive linemen. 

The Falcons went out and signed a bunch of defensive linemen to one-year, prove-it deals to fill out a room that rotates a lot during the game. The effectiveness of some of these players will be key in defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's system that saw 16 players get a sack last season. 

The concern with the defensive line lies in stopping the run. The team finished ninth in rush yards allowed and eighth in yards per carry allowed. They struggled to stop short-yardage runs, which made it hard for the defense to get off the field at times. 

The Falcons traded away Ruke Orhorhoro for Maason Smith, a 6-foot-5, 306-pound defensive tackle, in the hopes of beefing up the run defense. However, this alone will not be enough, and the Falcons will instead have to rely on the continued progression of their very young defensive line unit. 

An elite pass rush helps boost this group's grade, but a lackluster run defense brings it back down. This group is young and has a ton of potential, and they will be one of the most important groups for the team's success this season. 

Linebackers: C

The Falcons' linebackers are another position group that has some question marks entering training camp. Divine Deablo is the clear starter, but who will be playing alongside him is a question. Christian Harris, whom the Falcons signed in free agency, has emerged as the early favorite, but rookies Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. will be vying for the spot as well. 

Deablo is a solid option as the main starter. He fits perfectly into Ulbrich's defensive system and racked up 73 tackles and five tackles for loss in just 13 games last season. His size and athleticism pair well with his aggressive playstyle, which allows him to play downhill and make plays in the run game. 

The rest of the group is unproven. Harris fizzled out in Houston after an injury saw him fall out of the starting lineup, but he does have a 100-tackle season under his belt back in 2022. Daniels and Perkins have plenty of upside, but were drafted in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively. 

Ulbirch completely overhauled the linebacker room this offseason, picking up a bunch of big, athletic linebackers who play similarly to Deablo. He wants this group to be built and play a certain way that fits his system.

This worked at reviving Deablo’s career, and if it has the same effect on some of these other guys, this could be a good room; for now, there are too many unknowns. Because of that, the group gets a C grade. 

Cornerbacks: B-

AJ Terrell will be joined by his brother, Avieon, in the Falcons' secondary this season after the team drafted Avieon in the second round to unite the brothers in their hometown.

This was a significant boost to the Falcons' secondary that lost its nickel corner, Dee Alford, in free agency and struggled with injuries last season. AJ Terrell is an excellent corner whose size, fluidity, and technique make him one of the best in the league. 

Mike Hughes will likely start the year opposite him. The veteran corner is entering his ninth season and has started around half the games during this time, including 27 games over the past two years for the Falcons. During that time, Hughes has been just ok, allowing over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns. 

Avieon will probably be in the slot/nickel corner role to start the season, as Billy Bowman Jr. returns from an Achilles tear he suffered last season. Avieon’s fluidity and quickness project well for this role, so it will be interesting to see what the team decides to do with him when Bowman returns. 

Apart from that, the team does have solid depth at the position in youngster Cobee Bryant and veteran C.J. Henderson. 

Bryant showed flashes of good play when he was thrust into a starting role due to injury last season, but was picked on by bigger receivers at times. Henderson almost fell out of the league after missing the 2024 season, but returned in 2025 and played four games for the Falcons, where he had a game-winning interception against the Cardinals in Week 16 last season.

Overall, the group has a solid mainstay in AJ Terrell, but with just ok pieces around him and good depth, they earn just a B- grade. If Avieon turns out anything like his brother, though, this grade could shoot up. 

Safeties: A

The Falcons possess one of the best safety duos in the league in Jessie Bates III and Xavier Watts. Bates has solidified himself as one of the league's top safeties after earning a Second Team All-Pro nod last season, and Watts burst onto the scene last year as a rookie, leading all first-year players with five interceptions and finishing fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. 

The two of them pair perfectly together as well. Watts uses his intelligence and ball-hawking skills to patrol centerfield, which frees up Bates to do what he does best, which is make game-changing plays all over the field. 

Bates is also a perfect mentor for Watts. Bates has made a career out of being in the right place at the right time. As Bates gets older, Watts should grow into the star safety role for the Falcons. 

For this season though, the Falcons have one of the better safety duos in the league with Bates and Watts and even possess a solid depth piece in DeMarcco Hellams, and for these reasons earn an A grade at the safety position. 

Kicker: A

One of the Falcons' biggest moves in free agency this year was the acquisition of kicker Nick Folk. The Falcons signed the 41-year-old to a two-year, $9 million deal to be the teams new kicker. 

Last year was a rough year for Falcons kickers as the team went through three different options before finally landing on Zane Gonzalez. The shakiness of the kicking game arguably cost the team multiple games last year, and the team needed someone to steady the ship heading into this season. 

Folk should do just that. Despite his age, he has led the league in field goal percentage each of the last three seasons and has missed just three kicks during this time span. 

He doesn’t possess the booming leg with a career-long of just 58 yards, which he kicked last season, but he is reliable, and as Falcons fans should remember, he can come through in the clutch. Folk hit a 56-yard game-winning field goal against the Falcons last season to give the Jets one of their three wins on the year. Folk is exactly what Falcons fans need after a couple of rocky seasons at the position, and because of this, Folk gets an A grade. 

Punter: B

Punter is not a position fans want to get familiar with, but having a good punter can be super valuable to a team. The Falcons signed Jake Bailey to a three-year, $9 million deal this offseason. 

Bailey is a seven-year veteran, punting for both New England and Miami during his career, and is a one-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro back in 2020. Last season, he averaged 47.7 yards per punt, and 33.3 percent of his punts were downed inside the 20. 

Overall, those numbers are around average, and Bailey has been that over the past few seasons, but he has an elite punter in him, which he showed in 2020.

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This Falcons roster contains a solid amount of talent all over the field, but lacks it in some of the most important positions and could struggle with depth in other spots. There are plenty of question marks still, and if the answers are good, this team could find success in 2026, but the opposite could just as easily be true. 

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