Despite having a strong young roster and a new front office regime, in place the future outlook for the Atlanta Falcons is pretty bleak, at least according to the national media. ESPN has come out with their annual future power rankings list for all 32 NFL teams, and the Falcons are near the bottom - coming in at No. 27 on their list. They ranked 21st in overall roster strength not including QB, 31st at quarterback, 17th in coaching and 24th in front office. The worst of it is that they see no change coming on the horizon. ESPN included this dire bold prediction for Atlanta: they won't make the playoffs through the 2029 season.
"The Falcons will not make the playoffs from 2027 to 2029. Atlanta needs a quarterback, but the current team isn't bad enough to land a top-two pick. The Falcons could draft one next year, but they might have to give up some serious capital to trade up. And though there are building blocks on this team, I fear the Falcons could be caught in the middle -- even in the NFC South." -- Seth Walder, ESPN
The good news is that it's impossible to see that far into the future with any accuracy. If the Falcons were to trade for or sign or draft a perfectly-average starting quarterback some time in the next couple of years they would instantly be considered the favorites to win the NFC South - and the playoff spot that comes with it. We really don't understand where the non-QB roster ranking is coming from. Atlanta is loaded at the edge, their secondary is strong, their offensive line is great and they have a brilliant trio of offensive skill players. Yes, they need help at defensive tackle and wide receiver - but there are no positions (not counting quarterback) where it's just a total hopeless mess. There's at least one promising player at each position and in some cases several young up and coming talents. Nobody is going to confuse these Falcons with a Super Bowl contender any time soon, but they're much closer than ESPN has made them out to be this offseason. One bold move for a QB will be all it takes to put these narratives into the dustbin.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: ESPN shares devastating prediction for Falcons' future