It sounds like the rest of the NFL is severely down on the Atlanta Falcons going into the 2026 season. The Athletic just came out with a polling of anonymous league executives where they voted on the best teams in the NFC from 1-16.
The Falcons came in just shy of the bottom, with only the lowly Arizona Cardinals being voted worse than them inside the conference. That's a pretty brutal place to be, but at least there's one interesting nugget to go with that horrible ranking.
Apparently one exec believes that undrafted rookie Jack Strand might end up winning the QB1 job.
"The Falcons won their final four games last season to finish 8-9. It feels like they've lost four straight entering 2026, mostly because the quarterback situation remains a big
concern. It might be the (Jack) Strand kid who winds up with that job," one anonymous NFL exec told Mike Sando, referring to the undrafted rookie out of Minnesota State-Moorhead.
It's a pretty remote scenario, but it is worth mentioning that Strand was the team's most impressive quarterback during their three preseason games.That's a pretty low bar, though, and the Falcons did not get much out of his competition. Last year's starter, Michael Penix Jr., did not participate as he continues to work his way back from an ACL tear.
Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa was extremely conservative with his targeting and Cooper Rush only really thrived against the awful pass defense of the Indianapolis Colts. Tagovailoa has the advantage but even general manager Ian Cunningham said the team wanted to see what Penix could do this week in practice before making a decision.
If Penix flops then, Rush is probably the next man up - but Strand showed a far higher ceiling during the preseason and at least has the potential to be a franchise QB given his age as opposed to Rush.
Either way, carrying four quarterbacks is at least one too many. Somebody needs to be let loose as soon as the Falcons see an impact player become available.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: NFL exec says undrafted rookie Jack Strand might win Falcons QB job
