ESPN NFL Power Rankings projects another mediocre season for Falcons

It’s been 2,382 days since the Atlanta Falcons fell 15-10 to the eventual Super Bowl Champion, Philadelphia Eagles, in the 2017-2018 playoffs. That’s six straight seasons without a playoff berth, tied for the third-longest active postseason drought with fellow NFC South dweller Carolina Panthers . After trying to wipe out the stench of Super Bowl LI from the walls of Flowery Branch with the hiring of head coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot, only Fontenot remains, and he is on thin ice. He can’t afford another mediocre season for the Falcons, but that’s exactly what ESPN’s NFL experts Louis Riddick, Dan Graziano and Aaron Schatz have projected for them in their NFL Power Rankings , predicting the 2024 season.

The trio ranked the Falcons as the 24th-best team in the NFL, 12th in the NFC and 2nd in the NFC South. Other notable teams in front of the Falcons are:

• 1) Kansas City Chiefs
• 4) Detroit Lions
• 7) San Francisco 49ers
• 9) Green Bay Packers
• 14) Dallas Cowboys
• 18) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• 20) Chicago Bears
• 22) Washington Commanders

Graziano highlighted that while Atlanta created an “icky situation” with the drafting of Michael Penix Jr., only a few teams have the mix of play-caller (Zac Robinson), quarterback (Kirk Cousins) and offensive weapons (Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Drake London) as the Falcons. Despite that, the panel ranked them only the 19th-best overall roster, excluding quarterback.

Why?

I’ll let Riddick explain:

Yes, the offense is going to be fine. But what about the defense -- specifically the pass rush? The Falcons were last in PRWR in 2023 (30.9%) and have been the worst pass-rushing team in the NFL over the past three seasons. New coach Raheem Morris has both an offensive and defensive background, but the key will be how he helps develop the young defensive linemen taken in Rounds 2-4 of the 2024 draft (Ruke Orhorhoro, Bralen Trice and Brandon Dorlus)

The questions surrounding this defense are starting to become too much to ignore. The refusal to address the lack of pass rush, the uncertainty at the second and third levels, including, but not limited to, what Troy Andersen looks like and the corner on the other side of A.J. Terrell.

For the past three seasons, the 10th-best record in the NFC has a ceiling of 8 wins, Green Bay in 2022. Most importantly, this would mean another season without a playoff berth, a worst-case scenario for Atlanta.