The Atlanta Falcons are one week away from playing in the 2026 NFL season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they still haven't shown their hand when it comes to the starting quarterback job. While the team has until Wednesday to release its Week 1 depth chart, NFL insiders believe a decision may come sooner than that.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski is expected to meet with the media on Monday, and that's when ESPN's Jeremy Fowler believes the Falcons will declare either Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa as their QB1 against Pittsburgh.
Whoever is eventually named the starter won't be guaranteed the job for the entire season. Regardless of whether it's Penix or Tagovailoa, they will likely be on a short leash. Some analysts even believe
undrafted rookie Jack Strand could see the field at some point.
In a new bold predictions feature from NFL.com, Grant Gordon predicted Strand would start "more than half" of Atlanta's games in 2026.
"Jack Strand takes over as Falcons starting QB: Atlanta will see Strand end the season with more starts than Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa. Strand will start more than half the campaign for Atlanta, showing some promise, but not enough to dissuade the Falcons from plucking a quarterback in the talent-rich 2027 NFL Draft."
Strand showed enough to make the Falcons' initial 53-man roster out of training camp, and the team is currently holding four quarterbacks (Tagovailoa, Penix, Strand and Cooper Rush). Despite a relatively quiet game in the preseason finale, Strand absolutely went off against the Indianapolis Colts the week prior.
The undrafted rookie out of MSU-Moorhead threw the ball all over the yard, going 12-for-17 for 212 passing yards and two touchdowns (one rushing) for a passer rating of 132.5. After seeing Tagovailoa barely throw the ball past the line of scrimmage, fans were excited to see Strand push the ball down the field.
This big-play ability is the same reason why many also hope Penix is the Week 1 starter. However, it's certainly not out of the question that Strand would see the field at some point.
Penix and Tagovailoa have obvious injury histories, and while Cooper Rush is listed above Strand on the depth chart, we can't imagine all four quarterbacks sticking around for the entire season.
The best-case scenario for the Falcons is for one of their quarterbacks to run away with the job in 2026 and never look back. While that may be wishful thinking, other quarterbacks have turned things around following slow starts in the NFL.
After all, Sam Darnold did lead the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl win last year, and the New York Jets just traded for Geno Smith.
The Falcons and the Steelers will face off in Pittsburgh next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: NFL analyst makes bold prediction about Falcons QB Jack Strand
