Offseason In Review: Atlanta Falcons

Although Stefanski was a two-time Coach of the Year in Cleveland, the team dismissed him last winter after he went 45-56 in six seasons. As lackluster as that record looks, it would be fair to acknowledge that Stefanski regularly got a raw deal at quarterback. Aside from Joe Flacco‘s five-game, Comeback Player of the Year-winning renaissance that Stefanski oversaw in 2023, the Browns have not found a stable option since they dumped Baker Mayfield in 2022.

Fortunately for Stefanski, Cleveland’s ongoing issues are no longer his concern. However, despite the fact that Stefanski is now in a new setting, it may be the same old story for him in 2026. Even after the Falcons shook things up at the game’s foremost position in the offseason, their QB room looks iffy at best. That is far from the only problem in Atlanta, which took a pair of recent body blows on the defensive side of the ball.

Last year’s Falcons registered a franchise-record 57 sacks, the second-best mark in the league. Their two 2025 first-round picks, outside linebacker Jalon Walker (5.5) and fellow edge defender James Pearce Jr. (10.5), combined for 16. But Walker, the 15th selection last year, will miss the season after tearing his ACL in camp. Pearce, whom Fontenot traded up for to draft at No. 26, will serve an eight-game suspension stemming from a February arrest in Florida.

Pearce is facing felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer with violence to his or her person. Those charges will be dropped if Pearce completes a 12-month pretrial diversion program in Florida. In the meantime, instead of building on an encouraging rookie campaign, Pearce will miss almost half of his second season after allegedly engaging in abhorrent off-field conduct.

Extensions/restructures:

• Signed WR Drake London to four-year, $141.05MM extension ($52.87MM guaranteed)
• Inked RB Bijan Robinson to three-year, $66.75MM contract ($37.57MM guaranteed)
• Extended franchise-tagged TE Kyle Pitts for three years, $53MM ($36MM guaranteed)
• Reached four-year, $96MM deal ($28.92MM guaranteed) with G Matthew Bergeron
• Reworked contracts for LT Jake Matthews and CB AJ Terrell to free up $19MM in cap room
• Converted $12MM of CB A.J. Terrell‘s salary into a signing bonus, freeing up $9MM in cap space

Fontenot was unable to lead the Falcons out of the abyss during his half-decade in charge, but he at least left the new administration some blue-chip talent. Two of his first-round draft choices, London (eighth overall, 2022) and Robinson (No. 8, 2023), have developed into bona fide stars. They are now being paid like it, which is no surprise after Cunningham indicated he would turn his post-draft focus to extensions for the pair.

There was more urgency to hammer out an agreement with London, who otherwise could have become a free agent next offseason. Cunningham extinguished that possibility when he reached an agreement with London in the first week of June. The 25-year-old is now third among receivers in total contract value and average annual salary ($35.26MM). He checks in ninth in full guarantees.

Despite dealing with average or worse quarterback play during his first four years, London consistently notched good to spectacular numbers in each season. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder averaged 70 catches, 886 yards and three touchdowns per season over his first two years. He found another level during a 100-grab, 1,271-yard, nine-TD explosion in 2024. A knee injury held London to 12 games last year, but he was a force when healthy. London had 68 catches, 919 yards and seven scores in 12 games. That translates to a cool 95-catch, 1,309-yard, 10-TD pace over a full season.

The Falcons exercised Robinson’s fifth-year option for 2027 in April, meaning there was no chance of losing him to free agency in the immediate future. However, given Robinson’s importance to their offense, the Falcons wanted to secure him for the long haul. But their negotiations with the 2025 first-team All-Pro RB/second-team All-Pro all-purpose player and two-time Pro Bowler were trickier than their talks with London.

Robinson and Lions back Jahmyr Gibbs, a fellow 2023 first-rounder who has been similarly excellent, sought market-topping deals at the same time. They staged hold-ins early in camp, though there was never much doubt they and their teams would eventually find common ground. It was just a question of which player would blink first. It turned out to be Robinson, who signed two days before Gibbs.

Excluding Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love, whose contract was dictated by the rookie wage scale, Robinson is second at the position in guarantees. He was briefly first in that category and total value, but Gibbs leapfrogged him. The seminal chapter in RB contract history finished with Gibbs securing a $22.5MM-per-year deal after Robinson’s $22.25MM number briefly set the market.

Although running back is not considered a premium position, players like Robinson and Gibbs are exceptional enough to warrant massive second contracts. Robinson, who has never missed a game, will aim for a third straight 1,400-yard year on the ground and a third consecutive season with double-digit TDs. Between his rushing and receiving last season, the 5-11, 215-pound dual threat piled up a league-high 2,298 yards from scrimmage and scored 11 times. Robinson finished 18th in the league in catches (79) and chipped in 820 receiving yards.

Speaking of pass catchers, Pitts enjoyed a lucrative offseason in his own right. With the 25-year-old nearing free agency, the Falcons kept him in place via the tag in late February. Cunningham admitted in late March that he would listen to offers for Pitts, but the GM later decided an extension was the better path. Pitts, a beneficiary of the rising cost of tight ends, now sits first at the position in full guarantees and third in both total value and AAV ($17.67MM).

As Fontenot’s first pick (No. 4 in 2021) and the highest-drafted TE in NFL history, Pitts faced sky-high expectations entering the league. He lived up to them as a rookie. Although he only caught one TD in 17 games, the ex-Florida Gator earned a Pro Bowl nod after reaching 1,026 yards on 68 receptions. That was Ryan’s last season as the Falcons’ QB. Five years later, he played a key part in keeping Pitts in Atlanta for the foreseeable future.

Pitts has played full seasons in four of five years, adding to his appeal. The lone exception was his second season, 2022, when he tore his MCL and missed seven games. His production sagged to 28 catches, 356 yards and two scores. Pitts was better between 2023-24, though his output was still closer to decent than great. The 6-6, 250-pounder averaged approximately 50 catches, 635 yards and four TDs during that span.

To Pitts’ credit, he put together arguably his best season in a contract year. He earned a second-team All-Pro selection after pulling in career highs in catches (88) and TDs (five). Pitts fell shy of 1,000 yards, but with 928, he ranked second among TEs. The Falcons expect that to continue. Otherwise, they would have either let Pitts leave in free agency or held off on an extension.

Unlike London, Robinson and Pitts, Bergeron is far from a household name. The left guard nonetheless joined those three in serving as a bright spot during the Fontenot era. The Montreal native missed just two games over his first three seasons, during which he started in 49 straight appearances. In the process, he proved enough to the Falcons’ first-year front office to make him one of the wealthiest guards in the sport.

Only four guards own richer overall deals than Bergeron, who is tied with the Cowboys’ Trey Smith for second in AAV ($24MM). He is a slightly more modest 11th in full guarantees. Between Bergeron and Chris Lindstrom, who signed a five-year, $102.5MM extension in 2023, no team is paying more for guards than the Falcons. Both Lindstrom (No. 2) and Bergeron (No. 20) were top-20 guards in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus.

Free agency additions:

• Jahan Dotson, WR: Two years, $15MM ($10MM guaranteed)
• Jake Bailey, P: Three years, $9MM ($5MM guaranteed)
• Za’Darius Smith, OLB: One year, $6MM ($5MM guaranteed)
• Nick Folk, K: Two years, $9MM ($4MM guaranteed)
• Austin Hooper, TE: One year, $3.25MM ($2.74MM guaranteed)
• Cameron Thomas, DE: One year, $3.1MM ($2.5MM guaranteed)
• Olamide Zaccheaus, WR: Two years, $4.5MM ($2.3MM guaranteed)
• Christian Harris, LB: One year, $2.75MM ($1.99MM guaranteed)
• Da’Shawn Hand, DT: One year, $3MM ($1.5MM guaranteed)
• Brian Robinson, RB: One year, $2.5MM ($775K guaranteed)
• Samson Ebukam, DE: One year, $2.77MM ($700K guaranteed)
• Chris Williams, DT: One year, $2MM ($500K guaranteed)
• Azeez Ojulari, OLB: One year, $1.4MM ($388K guaranteed)
• Jawaan Taylor, T: One year, $5MM
• Matthew Hayball, P: Two years, $2.13MM
• Corey Levin, C: One year, $1.49MM
• Cooper Rush, QB: One year, $1.3MM
• Darren Hall, CB: One year, $1.22MM
• Darnay Holmes, CB: One year, $1.22MM
• Cameron Sample, DE: One year, $1.22MM
• Trey Sermon, RB: One year, $1.22MM
• Tua Tagovailoa, QB: One year, $1.22MM
• Channing Tindall, LB: One year, $1.22MM
• Josh Woods, LB: One year, $1.22MM
• Tyler Goodson, RB: One year, $1.15MM
• Nick Muse, TE: One year, $1.15MM
• Brandon Walton, T: One year, $1.15MM
• Layden Robinson, G: One year, $1MM

Although 2024 is still quite recent, it may as well be ancient history in the lives of Tua Tagovailoa and Kirk Cousins. Both players signed franchise quarterback-level contracts that year. Tagovailoa, then the triggerman of a high-powered Dolphins offense, inked a four-year, $212.4MM extension. Miami was convinced Tagovailoa, whom it drafted fifth overall in 2020, was its first true star signal-caller since Dan Marino.

A few months before the Dolphins committed to Tagovailoa, Cousins entered free agency off a strong six years with the Vikings. Cousins was still on the mend from an October 2023 Achilles tear, but it did not faze the Fontenot-led Falcons. They lured him out of Minnesota with a four-year, $180MM proposal that featured $100MM in guaranteed money.

The Tagovailoa and Cousins signings blew up in their teams’ faces. The oft-injured Tagovailoa missed six games in 2024, and he was so ineffective last year that then-Miami HC Mike McDaniel benched him for seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers in Week 16. Tagovailoa never took the field again for the Dolphins, whose new leaders washed their hands of him during the offseason at the cost a record $99.2MM in dead money.

Likewise, the Falcons pulled the plug on the Cousins era two years into his mega-deal. He lost his starting gig late in 2024 to Michael Penix Jr., whom the Falcons shockingly drafted eighth overall a month after backing up the Brinks truck for Cousins. But Penix partially tore his left ACL last November, reopening the door for Cousins.

Although the Falcons went a respectable 5-3 in Cousins’ starts, their new regime decided to move forward without him. Designating Cousins a post-June 1 release saved the Falcons $2.5MM in cap space this year, but they also have to spread $22.5MM in dead money through 2027.

With Penix nowhere near recovered from knee surgery at the time, the Falcons reentered the quarterback market in March. There was talk of a Flacco-Stefanski reunion in free agency. There was also interest in a trade for the Cardinals’ Jacoby Brissett, who played for Stefanski in Cleveland in 2022. In the end, though, the Falcons could not turn down Tagovailoa at a bargain rate. The fact that the Dolphins are stuck paying a huge tab for the 28-year-old Tagovailoa enabled the Falcons to scoop up the one-time Pro Bowler for the minimum.

Tagovailoa, a Hawaii native who has never shown an ability to overcome cold weather, chose a logical destination. He landed in the NFC South, a division with favorable climates and no intimidating opponents. Two of them (Carolina and Tampa Bay) play in warm weather. The other (New Orleans) is in a dome. So are the Falcons, who will host nine games in the cushy confines of Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season. Bonus: The Falcons get Pittsburgh and Green Bay in September, when weather should not be an issue, and will play an 11th game in a dome in Minnesota.

All of that lines up well for Tagovailoa. So does the partial absence of Penix, who only began 11-on-11 work Saturday. The Falcons’ plan had been for the two southpaws to vie for the starting job this summer, but it’s hard to stage a proper two-man competition when one contender can’t fully participate. With that in mind, Tagovailoa should have been able to run away with the QB1 title in the past few weeks. Instead, though, he has not fared well enough for Stefanski to close the door on Penix getting the nod in Week 1.

While Tagovailoa should still be considered the favorite to start, he is unlikely to have a long leash. Not only are the Falcons paying him next to nothing by NFL standards, but it would behoove them to find out if Penix is a worthwhile starter or even capable of staying healthy.

Penix has a well-documented injury history dating to his college days at Indiana and Washington. Since 2018, three ACL tears, a broken collarbone and a separated shoulder have cut him down. Now 26, Penix is going into a pivotal third professional season with 12 up-and-down starts on his resume. Team brass will decide on his fifth-year option for 2028 next offseason. If the Falcons had to make the call right now, they would decline it.

Falcons quarterbacks completed 332 passes last season. They distributed more than 70% of those to London, Robinson and Pitts, who combined for 235 catches. Evidenced by the Dotson and Zaccheaus signings, the Falcons want better complementary work than they received from the now-departed group of Darnell Mooney, David Sills, Casey Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud.

Despite going 16th overall in the 2022 draft, Dotson is already on his third team. The 5-11, 184-pounder opened his career with back-to-back 500-yard seasons and 11 scores with the Commanders, but his impact fell off dramatically after a preseason trade to the Eagles in 2024. Stuck behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on the Eagles’ receiver depth chart, Dotson only hauled in 37 passes for 488 yards and a TD in a 34-game, 16-start span.

Falcons fans (and Ryan) are already familiar with Zaccheaus, who began his career in Atlanta as a 2019 UDFA. He wound up staying there for four years. After combining for 71 catches, 939 yards and six TDs from 2021-22, the former Philadelphia high school student joined the Eagles in free agency. That move didn’t work out for Zaccheaus, who had a meager 10 receptions in 17 games, but he has since put together a couple of much better one-year showings in Washington and Chicago.

Primarily a slot target, the 5-8, 194-pounder amassed 84 catches, 819 yards and five TDs in 33 games from 2024-25. The Falcons would sign up for a fifth season of at least 30 catches from Zaccheaus, though rookie Zachariah Branch (more on him later) could eat into his slot snaps. That wouldn’t necessarily preclude Zaccheaus from contributing, though, as he has shown inside-outside versatility throughout his career. He played a near-even split between the slot (50.6%) and the outside (49.4%) under Bears head coach Ben Johnson in 2025.

Elsewhere on offense, the Falcons enjoyed six years of right tackle stability from 2019-24. Kaleb McGary started in 92 of 93 appearances during that span. Comfortable with him continuing to start opposite left tackle stalwart Jake Matthews, the Falcons awarded McGary a two-year, $30MM extension last August. Little did they know he would never play another down.

Roughly two weeks after McGary put pen to paper, he suffered a leg injury that kept him out for the season. Elijah Wilkinson unexpectedly stepped in as a 17-game starter, playing 100% of Atlanta’s offensive snaps, but PFF placed him a below-average 53rd among 84 qualified tackles. The Falcons let Wilkinson leave for a raise in Arizona, where he signed a two-year, $6.25MM pact as a free agent.

Expectations then were that McGary would return as the Falcons’ starting RT, but he abruptly retired on April 8. The Falcons acted quickly to replace McGary, adding Taylor a couple hours after the retirement news broke.

Taylor is known to struggle with penalties, having taken 40 as a Chief from 2023-25, and PFF has never rated his performance higher than 49th in an individual season (pass block win rate, however, has been kinder; Taylor slotted seventh among tackles in 2025 and 15th in 2024). But the eighth-year man has nonetheless started in all 111 appearances, including every game with the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs in 2023.

Also a former Jaguar, Taylor managed perfect attendance in his first five seasons. The streak ended when he sat out one game in 2024, though, and he missed five more last season because of a triceps injury. The Chiefs released Taylor to save $20MM in cap room, but he is now in line to start for a third different team.

Whether it is Tagovailoa or Penix, the 28-year-old Taylor will be tasked with protecting the blind side of an injury-prone left-hander. That puts extra pressure on Taylor, but if he holds up well, he could position himself for a better contract next offseason.

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On the defensive side, the Falcons obviously could not have predicted Walker’s ACL tear. On the other hand, it was clear the league would hand down some sort of suspension to Pearce. Despite that, the Falcons didn’t do anything splashy to address the edge in the months before the league punished him.

The Falcons have not re-signed the nomadic Leonard Floyd, a 33-year-old Georgia native who is still a free agent on the heels of a 15-start, 3.5-sack season. Instead, they doled out short-term, low-cost deals to the likes of Smith, Ebukam, Thomas, Sample and Ojulari (another Georgia native).

The addition of Smith came in response to the Walker injury and the Pearce ban. While Smith is a three-time Pro Bowler, it is anyone’s guess if he has anything left in the tank after spending most of 2025 out of football. The 33-year-old journeyman opened the season with the Eagles but retired in mid-October after playing 131 defensive snaps and picking up 1.5 sacks in five games.

Smith had a recent change of heart, leading the Eagles to release him from the reserve/retired list in June. The former Brown appeared to have a deal in place with Cleveland on Aug. 17, but he booked a visit to Atlanta the next day. Signing with the Falcons reunited Smith with Stefanski, who coached him from 2023-24.

Smith registered 10.5 sacks in 25 games with the Browns, who shipped him to the Lions ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. He finished the year with nine sacks. Production along those lines would be a boon for an Atlanta team whose pass rush quickly went from strength to question mark.

Ebukam has similar capabilities to Smith, having topped out at 9.5 sacks with the Colts in 2023. He achieved that career high while playing for defensive line coach Nate Ollie, who now holds the same position in Atlanta. An Achilles tear cost Ebukam all of 2024, and though he came back to play 14 games last year, the former starter worked as a rotational player and fell to two sacks. Now that the injury is two years in the rearview mirror for Ebukam, maybe he’ll regain some of the form he showed when he combined for 58 QB hits and 28 sacks with the Rams, 49ers and Colts from 2019-23.

Shifting to special teams, the contract for Folk looks rich for a kicker who will turn 42 during the season. However, the well-traveled Folk has been close to automatic for three straight years. A Titan from 2023-24 and a Jet last season, Folk combined to nail 79 of 82 field goals (a league-leading 96.3%) and 75 of 77 extra points (97.4%). It stands to reason the 19th-year veteran will benefit from moving into a dome.

Kickers are volatile, and Folk’s age creates even more risk, but the Falcons prioritized the position after going through three different options in 2025. They released Younghoe Koo after he missed a 44-yarder that would have sent their Week 1 game against the Buccaneers into overtime. Replacement John Parker Romo got the boot after a costly missed PAT in a one-point loss to the Patriots in Week 9. The Falcons might have won the NFC South had even one of those two kicks gone through the uprights.

Zane Gonzalez held the fort the after the Falcons cut Romo. Gonzalez went a solid 19 of 22 on FGs (86.4%) and 17 of 18 on PATs (94.4%), but he has never been all that trustworthy during his seven years in the league. Gonzalez signed with the Dolphins in free agency, though he is now back on the market after they released him with an injury settlement this week.

Re-signings:

• DeAngelo Malone, OLB: One year, $1.5MM ($215K guaranteed)
• Natrone Brooks, CB: One year, $1.08MM

Notable losses:

• Dee Alford, CB
• Tyler Allgeier, RB
• Troy Andersen, LB (released)
• Kirk Cousins, QB (post-June 1 cut)
• Arnold Ebiketie, OLB
• Kaden Elliss, LB
• Leonard Floyd, OLB
• Feleipe Franks, TE
• Elijah Garcia, DT
• Zane Gonzalez, K
• Jovaughn Gwyn, G
• Ronnie Harrison, S
• Khalid Kareem, OLB
• KhaDarel Hodge, WR (released)
• Kaleb McGary, RT (retired)
• Darnell Mooney, WR (released)
• David Onyemata, DT
• Bradley Pinion, P
• Teagan Quitoriano, TE
• Sam Roberts, DT
• David Sills, WR
• Kentavius Street, OLB
• Easton Stick, QB
• Casey Washington, WR
• Elijah Wilkinson, OL

The Falcons’ defense had no problem racking up sacks or takeaways (seventh) last year, but it was a mediocre group in most other categories. The team was 13th against the pass, 14th in total yards, 15th in EPA per play, and 24th in both scoring and run defense. It was still somewhat surprising the Falcons said goodbye to Onyemata and Elliss, a couple of well-respected veterans who were among their bright spots last season.

After playing his first seven seasons with the Saints — who had employed Fontenot for most of that stay — Onyemata signed with the Falcons for three years and $35MM in 2023. He proceeded to start in 47 of 48 games with the Falcons, including all 34 over the past two seasons.

Onyemata had one of his top pass-rushing seasons in the first year of the deal, as he notched four sacks and a career-high 16 QB hits in 14 games. He fell to three and five in those respective categories in 2024 and dropped to one sack and two QB hits last year. Despite that, PFF rated Onyemata as the league’s eighth-best interior defensive lineman among 127 qualifiers in 2025. The Falcons decided to let him test the free agent market, though, and he became a Jet on a one-year, $10.5MM deal.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich publicly pounded the table for the Falcons to re-sign Elliss, but he instead returned to New Orleans for a second stint. Originally a Saint from 2019-22, Elliss accompanied Onyemata in moving to Atlanta in 2023. Elliss’ three-year deal also paid off for the Falcons, who got a durable and prolific producer.

While never missing a game or a start with the Falcons, Elliss averaged 120 tackles, 11 QB hits, 10 TFLs, 4.5 sacks and four pass breakups per year. Even though Elliss is now 31, he scored an even larger contract in free agency this past offseason. The Saints gave him $33MM, including $23MM guaranteed, over three years. The Falcons made a much smaller investment in former Texan Christian Harris, who looks like the favorite to take over for Elliss alongside Divine Deablo.

The Falcons spent the 38th pick in the 2022 draft on Ebiketie, who never made more than six starts in a season during his four years with the club. He was a useful and durable depth player, though, especially during back-to-back six-sack seasons in 2023 and ’24. Ebiketie also tallied 12 QB hits in each of those two years, but the number was cut in half last season. He also had just two sacks, though a decline in playing time contributed to that.

After the Falcons added Walker, Pearce and Floyd, Ebiketie plummeted from 543 defensive snaps in 2024 to 384 last year. The former Penn State Nittany Lion then returned to Pennsylvania on a one-year, $4.3MM deal with the Eagles in free agency.

Alford, who grew up in Georgia, signed with the Falcons in 2022 after a stint in the CFL. He went on to play four straight 16-game seasons with the Falcons, who mainly used him as a slot corner. Alford made 23 starts in Atlanta, including seven in his final season with the team. While playing 57% of defensive snaps in 2025, he set career highs in pass breakups (13), TFLs (six), INTs (three) and sacks (two). The Falcons lost Alford to the Bills on a three-year, $15.75MM contract, but as we’ll touch on later, they have may have found his replacement in the draft.

Atlanta’s offense didn’t lose much in free agency, but Allgeier is worth mentioning. As a fifth-round rookie in 2022, Allgeier rushed for 1,035 yards on 4.9 per attempt. Impressive, but not enough to stop the Falcons from drafting Robinson in Round 1 the next year. Allgeier was perhaps an overqualified backup in Atlanta from then on, leaving almost no chance he would re-sign in free agency.

Seeking more touches, Allgeier took the Cardinals’ two-year, $12.25MM offer in free agency. In an unexpected twist, Allgeier is once again stuck behind a prized young back. Weeks after they signed Allgeier, the Cardinals drafted the aforementioned Love third overall. The good news for Allgeier is that he probably reeled in a bigger payday than he would have in Atlanta.

Trades:

• Traded DT Ruke Orhorhoro to Jaguars for DT Maason Smith
• Sent pick Nos. 122, 215 to Eagles for S Sydney Brown and Nos. 114, 197
• Acquired T Wanya Morris and 2027 seventh-rounder from Chiefs for 2027 sixth-rounder

In the first trade of the Ryan-Cunningham era, the Falcons acquired Brown while swapping fourth- and sixth-round selections with the Eagles. Thanks in part to a late-season ACL tear he suffered as a rookie in 2023, Brown never carved out much of a role as a defender in Philadelphia. The former third-rounder started in nine of 42 games and posted yearly defensive snap shares ranging from 12% to 35%.

On the other hand, Brown was someone the Eagles heavily relied on as a special-teamer. While co-leading the Eagles with 332 third-phase snaps in 2025, Brown tied for 14th in the league in special teams tackles (14). The Falcons, who had one of the worst ST groups in the league last year, are likely expecting Brown to help spark a turnaround. With Jessie Bates and Xavier Watts locked in as the Falcons’ starting safeties, Brown should continue to see limited defensive action with his new team.

A week before the draft, the Falcons and Jaguars executed a change-of-scenery swap involving a pair of defensive tackles halfway through their rookie contracts. Because both players were 2024 second-rounders (Smith went 48th, Orhorhoro 35th), they make similar money. Smith carries a $1.52MM cap hit this year. Orhorhoro will count approximately $1.7MM in 2026, giving the Falcons a negligible amount of cap savings.

In 2025, his first year as the Falcons’ defensive coordinator, Ulbrich used Orhorhoro on 54.26% of snaps. The Clemson product played a full season, made eight starts and pitched in 30 pressures, 25 tackles, six QB hits, four TFL and 3.5 sacks.

Orhorhoro’s counting stats from last season look OK, yet PFF ranked him as the league’s fifth-worst interior defensive lineman out of 127 qualifiers. Only two D-tackles earned worse grades against the run than the 6-4, 295-pound Orohorhoro. If we’re to take PFF’s assessment at face value, it helps explain how the Falcons finished 24th against the run and 25th in yards per carry allowed.

Smith registered four QB hits, three TFL and three sacks during an 11-game rookie season, but he did not make a dent in any of those categories last year. The 6-5, 306-pounder from LSU was a statistical non-factor in 13 games under then-rookie D-coordinator Anthony Campanile, who turned to him on 28.38% of snaps. Nevertheless, the Falcons view Smith as a fit at nose tackle in Ulbrich’s defense. No longer in the shadow of DaVon Hamilton in Jacksonville, Smith is penciled in as a starter on Atlanta’s unofficial depth chart.

In another trade involving late-round picks, the Falcons pried Morris from the Chiefs in early June. The Morris acquisition came in response to swing tackle Storm Norton‘s ongoing health troubles. Norton missed all of last season with an ankle injury, and he will sit out again this year after the Falcons put him on the reserve/PUP list to clear a roster spot for Morris.

The Chiefs took Morris in the third round in 2023, but he went on to start just 16 of 43 games in their uniform. Barring injuries, Morris will also primarily work as a backup in Atlanta.

Matthews is remarkably durable, having played in 196 of 197 games during his 12-year career. His lone absence came way back in 2024, his rookie season. Taylor, whom Morris knows well from their three years together in K.C., isn’t on Matthews’ level as an iron man (few are). As mentioned, though, Morris has only missed six of 117 games. If Taylor misses any time this year, either Morris or Michael Jerrell will step into the Falcons’ starting lineup.

Draft:

• Round 2, No. 48: Avieon Terrell (CB, Clemson) (signed)
• Round 3, No. 79: Zachariah Branch (WR, Georgia) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 134 (from Raiders)*: Kendal Daniels (LB, Oklahoma) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 208 (from Bills via Jets and Raiders): Anterio Thompson (DT, Washington) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 215) (from Eagles)*: Harold Perkins (LB, LSU) (signed)
• Round 7, No. 231: Ethan Onianwa (T, Ohio State) (signed)

The Falcons drafted cornerback AJ Terrell with their first pick (No. 16) in 2020. Six years later, they spent their first pick on his brother. While the Falcons lost their first-rounder in the Pearce trade, some draftniks considered Avieon Terrell a Round 1-caliber prospect in the lead-up to the event. For example, Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked the Atlanta native as the 27th-best player in the class and wrote, “He projects as a rookie starter with inside-outside versatility.”

AJ Terrell, hands down the Falcons’ No. 1 corner, has one starting spot locked down. It does not appear Avieon will start opposite AJ right away, though. Incumbent Mike Hughes, a full-time starter from 2024-25, is the favorite. Avieon could eventually push Hughes this year or take on nickel corner duties.

Alford and Billy Bowman Jr. combined for 598 slot snaps last year, but the former is off the roster and the latter is on the mend from an Achilles tear. Bowman, who suffered the injury in November, has resided on the active/PUP list since the Falcons reported to camp in late July.

With Bowman unavailable, seventh-year journeyman Darnay Holmes currently holds the No. 1 NCB spot on the Falcons’ unofficial depth chart. Holmes has no guaranteed money in his contract, whereas the Falcons thought enough of Terrell to give him a fully guaranteed rookie deal after a terrific showing at Clemson. As a starter for the Tigers for two and a half years, he earned All-ACC honors twice. While Terrell did not intercept any passes last year after picking off three over the previous two seasons, he did lead the conference with five forced fumbles.

Based on his contract and his output at Clemson, it is fair to say the Falcons expect Terrell to step into a significant role sooner than later. Whether that’s mainly on the outside or as a nickel corner is up in the air. Terrell spent the vast majority of his college career on the outside, but he did play a personal-high 110 snaps in the slot in 2025.

Falcons fans who also root for the Georgia Bulldogs were likely pleased when Atlanta selected the 5-9, 177-pound Branch midway through the third round. After two years at USC, Branch transferred to Georgia in 2025 and earned second-team All-SEC honors last season.

Branch hauled in a conference-high 81 receptions, led FBS with an 87.1% catch rate and found the end zone six times in his sole year with the Bulldogs. He only averaged 10.0 yards per reception, but that’s to be expected for someone who hangs around the line of scrimmage. Branch’s average depth of target last year was a measly 3.3 yards, according to PFF. The speedster finished 428th out of 432 qualified receivers in that category, but he was 28th in yards after catch (7.8).

Considering Zaccheaus is only signed for one year, Branch could emerge as the Falcons’ primary slot receiver by 2027. He might even overtake Zaccheaus this year.

Other:

• Named Jeff Scott assistant GM
• Added Bryce Johnston to front office as senior vice president of football administration/senior personnel executive
• Parted ways with senior director of football administration Chris Olsen
• Hired Todd McClure as coordinator of player development/senior personnel assistant
• Dismissed assistant defensive line coach LaTroy Lewis
• Claimed S Keidron Smith from Jets
• Signed 14 UDFAs

Top 10 cap charges for 2026:

1. Chris Lindstrom, LG: $26.25MM
2. Jessie Bates, S: $24.77MM
3. Jake Matthews, LT: $16.77MM
4. AJ Terrell, CB: $13.5MM
5. Bijan Robinson, RB: $9.99MM
6. Divine Deablo, LB: $8.92MM
7. Drake London, WR: $8MM
8. Michael Penix Jr., QB: $6.24MM
9. Ryan Neuzil, C: $6.23MM
10. Charlie Woerner, TE: $5.75MM

Atlanta is not devoid of high-end talent, especially on offense. London, Robinson and Pitts will continue to form an enviable trio of weapons, and the O-line should be sturdy. The problem, and it’s a big one: The Falcons continue to look deficient at quarterback. Unless Tagovailoa turns back the clock to his halcyon days in Miami or Penix finally proves he can be a healthy, effective starter, the Falcons will face an uphill battle in attempting to break their playoff drought in 2026.

The Falcons’ defense also has some nice pieces, particularly Deablo, the Terrell brothers, Bates, Watts and ascending lineman Brandon Dorlus. A couple of the Falcons’ free agent losses could sting, however, and going without Walker for all of 2026 and Pearce for a large chunk of it may be too much to overcome.

If Falcons fans want to take a glass-half-full approach, the NFC South is up for grabs. It was the only division in the league that saw all of its members finish below .500 last season, the fourth straight year the NFC South champ won 10 or fewer games.

The Falcons’ pedestrian 8-9 mark tied the Panthers and the Buccaneers for the best record in the division, but Carolina won it based on tiebreakers. While the 6-11 Saints lagged behind, they expect to contend for the crown in the second year of the Kellen Moore–Tyler Shough era. All four teams still have glaring weaknesses, meaning the division winner could hover around .500 again. It isn’t a high bar to clear, but that doesn’t mean the Falcons are ready to jump over it.