We don’t yet know whether the Falcons are planning to make a significant push for the NFC South title in 2026, or whether they hope to build a solid team with an eye on having more resources and making more of a push in 2027. Either way, though, fielding a competitive football team this coming season is going to involve dipping toes in free agency, and I know the Falcons want to put a winning team on the field regardless of how high their expectations might be.
In order to ensure 2026 is not a total
loss, a team with limited draft capital has to accomplish a few things in free agency. Here’s five items I believe the Falcons have to cross off in free agency, starting this week, to avoid next season looking a lot like the eight that came before it.
A starting receiver
Right now, the Falcons have a handful of receivers under contract: The great Drake London, and then Casey Washington, Dylan Drummond, Deven Thompkins, and Chris Blair. Washington hasn’t shown us much in two seasons in Atlanta and has dealt with injuries, Drummond was a summer standout who looked occasionally capable in limited action, and Thompkins interests me more as a returner option than a receiver. While I like Blair, he’s chiefly spent time on the practice squad thus far.
The point is that there’s one starter and maybe a couple of guys you carry as deep reserves on the active roster, plus practice squad candidates. While the draft is almost certain to bring at least one more option to the group, the Falcons need a starting-caliber veteran pretty badly with Darnell Mooney out. Ideally they’d add speed to this group.
Options: Wan’Dale Robinson, Romeo Doubs, Jauan Jennings, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Hollywood Brown, Rashid Shaheed, Christian Kirk
A starting inside linebacker
The Falcons could just bring back Kaden Elliss to pair with Divine Deablo again, as that pairing was super effective when healthy. But thus far, general manager Ian Cunningham has indicated the Falcons are going to let Elliss test the market, and that market ought to be robust.
Atlanta should look for a veteran starter for a couple of reasons. The first is that while rookies can shine and the Falcons could use youth at the position, your average first-year inside linebacker is going is going to scuffle a bit. Given their draft capital, they’re more likely to get a potential future starter than a clear-cut one. The second reason is that this is a pretty terrific class, with a lot of established starters set to hit free agency and quite a few high-end options, including Elliss. Given how critical the position group is for Jeff Ulbrich and company, it’s important to get this signing right.
Options: Kaden Elliss, Tremaine Edmunds, Leo Chenal, Quay Walker, Bobby Okereke, Lavonte David, Demario Davis, Quincy Williams
EDGE help
This is like the receiver group, in that the situation gets dire after the top option. Right now, your only options under contract are Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., and Pearce is likely heading for some sort of 2026 suspension after his arrest earlier this year. Walker looks like an excellent player and Pearce is obviously an incredible talent if/when he plays for the Falcons in 2026, but that does not an edge group make.
The Falcons just don’t have the draft-based ammunition to reload here without free agency, so I’d expect 2-3 veteran signings. That number will likely depend on what the Falcons think they’re going to get out of Pearce in 2026, if anything, and how deep they want their rotation to be. Given that Ulbrich and defensive line coach Nate Ollie are back, I’d expect them to prioritize a group that’s heavier on options than high-end talent, especially with their relatively limited dollars.
Options: Trey Hendrickson, Jaelen Phillips, Haason Reddick, Joey Bosa, Arnold Ebiketie, Leonard Floyd, Arden Key, Samson Ebukam, Cam Jordan, Charles Omenihu, Kwity Paye, Dante Fowler Jr., David Ojabo, Payton Turner
A veteran quarterback
We’ve discussed this to death so I won’t belabor the point, but the Falcons are not going to head into the 2026 season with just Michael Penix Jr. and a rookie quarterback. They’ll need to invest in a quarterback they believe can start games for them and at least do so competently, given the uncertainty around Penix’s return timetable. The team has also not committed to Penix as their starter even when he is healthy, though I expect him to get his shot.
There aren’t a ton of inspiring options out there, but the market got a shot in the arm when Kyler Murray was released. The Falcons need a starting-caliber player as insurance, regardless, and there aren’t a ton out there that inspire much confidence.
Options: Kyler Murray, Malik Willis, Joe Flacco, Gardner Minshew, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Marcus Mariota, Trey Lance, Mitch Trubisky
Depth
Almost across the board, the Falcons are hurting for depth. That doesn’t make them any different than any other NFL team—especially with the influx of talent hitting the market this week—but a lack of depth was a notable cause of the team’s struggles in several of the past eight losing seasons. The 2025 campaign was definitely one of them, as the team’s lack of development and investment in their depth at wide receiver, inside linebacker, cornerback (minus Dee Alford!), and other positions came back to bite them.
Again, the Falcons will probably try to ensure they have more than five picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, but can’t count on filling the bulk of their depth chart with picks and undrafted players. Investing in promising younger free agents and hyper-reliable veterans will be key to making sure the team can weather adversity better in 2026 than they have of late.
