Atlanta Falcons

With $1636.4M in cap room (6th in the league) but $39.5M in dead money and commitments front-loaded this season at $235.9M, Atlanta has short-term tightness that opens into one of the league's most flexible situations within two to three seasons.

28 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Ten starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Seven picks this season, all sitting in the first round of their respective rounds, and three first-rounders over the next three years give Atlanta serious ammunition to accelerate a rebuild or trade up for impact players.

• Acquired: Round 7 from Vikings, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Seahawks, this draft

Atlanta's top strength is a loaded offensive skill core headlined by a 96-overall Bijan Robinson and a 92-overall Drake London, while the weakest spot on the roster is the WILL linebacker, where the starter ranks 31st in the league.

• WILLhigh

  Atlanta's weakest linebacker spot ranks 31st at starter and 23rd in depth, making WILL the single most urgent position to upgrade on the roster.

• DTmedium

  The defensive tackle group ranks 24th at starter and 25th in depth, and the current starters behind Gervon Dexter Sr. lack both rating and development upside.

• QBmedium

  Despite ranking 4th in QB depth, the starter Tua Tagovailoa checks in at just 74 overall and ranks 26th at the position, making a long-term answer at quarterback a medium-priority concern.

• LEDGElow

  Jalon Walker starts at left edge but the depth falls off sharply, with Za'Darius Smith entering the twilight of his career behind him and Jared Ivey rating just 59 overall.

• MIKElow

  Divine Deablo holds down the starting MIKE spot but the group ranks 21st at starter and 11th in depth, with Josh Woods as a 61-overall third-stringer.

• RTlow

  Jawaan Taylor starts at 75 overall but the group ranks 21st at the position, and depth behind him thins quickly with Cameron Williams and Storm Norton rounding out the chart.

• 63Kyle HintonLGKyle Hinton is a 63-overall third-string guard who rarely factors into game action, and releasing him frees $2.3M against $920K in dead money.Frees $2.3M · $920.0K dead
• 64Corey LevinCCorey Levin is a 64-overall backup center entering his early 30s who sits third on the LG chart and second at center, and cutting him frees $1.3M against just $180K in dead money.Frees $1.3M · $180.0K dead
• 61Josh WoodsMIKEJosh Woods is a 61-overall third-string MIKE linebacker who contributes little developmental value at 30 years old, and releasing him frees $1.1M with zero dead money.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead
• 65Cooper RushQBCooper Rush is the third-string quarterback at 65 overall with no development upside, and cutting him frees $1.1M against zero dead money, making him an easy roster save.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead
• 63Storm NortonLTStorm Norton sits third at left tackle at just 63 overall, and releasing him frees $720K against zero dead money, clearing a low-value backup spot.Frees $720.0K · $0 dead

Atlanta has the building blocks of a dangerous offense in Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts, all of whom are 25 or younger, and Chris Lindstrom anchoring a capable interior line. The defense flashes youth with 22-year-old edge rushers James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker alongside Gervon Dexter Sr. up front, and Jessie Bates III and A.J. Terrell Jr. locking down the secondary. The franchise's ceiling in the near term, however, is capped by the quarterback situation: Tua Tagovailoa starts at just 74 overall while Michael Penix Jr. sits behind him at 72 overall with Star development potential. Jake Matthews, a proven left tackle, is entering the late stage of his career, so addressing that succession quietly is important before the need becomes urgent. Za'Darius Smith and Samson Ebukam are similarly in the twilight of their careers at edge rusher, making the development of Walker and Pearce critical. The cap picture improves sharply as committed money drops from $185.6M next season to $64.2M in three seasons, which creates a long financial runway to retool through free agency. If the quarterback position can be upgraded and the WILL linebacker hole is addressed, this roster has enough pieces to compete for the playoffs within two to three seasons.

The Falcons were awarded to owner Rankin Smith Sr. on June 30, 1965, and began play in 1966 as an NFL expansion team; their first-ever draft pick, Texas linebacker Tommy Nobis, became known as "Mr. Falcon." The early decades were lean: Atlanta did not post a winning record until 1971 and did not reach the playoffs until 1978. The 1977 "Grits Blitz" defense allowed just 129 points in 14 games (9.2 per game), an all-time NFL record that still stands, and the team won its first division title in 1980. The franchise's signature early highlight came in 1998, when Dan Reeves' "Dirty Bird" Falcons went 14-2, won the NFC Championship at Minnesota on Morten Andersen's overtime field goal ("The Kick"), and reached Super Bowl XXXIII, losing 34-19 to Denver. The Michael Vick era (2001-2006) brought electric, run-first quarterback play and a 2004 NFC Championship Game appearance before ending in Vick's 2007 dogfighting conviction. The Matt Ryan / Julio Jones era (2008-2021) was the most sustained run of success in team history: Ryan was the 2016 NFL MVP and led Atlanta to Super Bowl LI, where the Falcons blew a 28-3 third-quarter lead and lost 34-28 in overtime to New England, the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. Dan Quinn (2015-2020) oversaw that peak and subsequent decline; Arthur Smith (2021-2023) posted three straight 7-10 seasons; and Raheem Morris (2024-2025) went 8-9 in both seasons before being fired on January 4, 2026. The current era, under Kevin Stefanski, begins in 2026 with owner Arthur Blank overhauling leadership from the top down.