After dropping some serious cash this offseason, the Atlanta Falcons are finally in a position to make some noise in 2023. Not only do they have the NFL’s easiest strength of schedule, the other three teams in the NFC South have new starting quarterbacks.
The Falcons added some big names, including Jessie Bates III, Calais Campbell, David Onyemata and Bijan Robinson, while losing relatively few players in free agency. So, where did Pro Football Focus rank Atlanta in their early 2023 roster rankings?
PFF’s Dalton Wasserman and Jim Wyman listed the Falcons at No. 26, citing the offensive line as the strength of the roster:
PFF named tight end Kyle Pitts as the biggest X-factor on the team going into 2023. As for Atlanta’s biggest weakness, Wasserman and Wyman pointed to second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder:
Ridder is arguably the biggest question mark on the team, and even after showing improvement over the final four games of the 2022 season, the former Cincinnati signal-caller has a lot to prove.
Still, some analysts are taking it a little too far. Chris Simms recently ranked Ridder at No. 40 on his top 40 QBs going into 2023. However, the Falcons have an elite running game and significantly upgraded their defense in free agency, so it won’t all be on Ridder to win games this season.
The Panthers (No. 24) came in two spots higher than the Falcons in PFF’s rankings, and the Buccaneers (No. 28) were ranked two spots below Atlanta. The Saints were the highest-rated team in the NFC South at No. 19.