The Atlanta Falcons have won at least seven games in 10 out of their last 11 seasons, but they haven’t won more than eight games since their 2017 campaign. The team has gone through multiple coaches, general managers and quarterbacks throughout that time period, yet nothing has seemed to work.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank finally opted to try something different in 2026, hiring Matt Ryan as the president of football to lead the team back to prominence. After all, Ryan was the last quarterback to lead Atlanta to the playoffs.

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The former league MVP understands the ins and outs of the NFL and has Blank’s complete trust. Ryan guided the Falcons to hire Kevin Stefanski as head coach and Ian Cunningham as general manager. However, the feel-good story won’t last long if the Falcons fail to produce wins under this new regime.

So where does Atlanta rank among the 32 NFL teams heading into 2026? ESPN’s latest power rankings listed the Falcons at No. 24, with the suggestion to “add depth everywhere” this offseason.

Falcons ranked No. 24 in ESPN’s power rankings

“There’s no doubt the Falcons have talent across the roster,” wrote ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. “But the team’s depth was called into question in training camp after wide receiver Darnell Mooney and right tackle Kaleb McGary went down with injuries. McGary and his backup, Storm Norton, both missed the entire season. Mooney missed three games, and Drake London missed five games. Atlanta’s offense never seemed to be firing on all cylinders. The Falcons will need to address their depth, including at quarterback due to Michael Penix Jr.’s ACL surgery.”

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Aside from the areas mentioned by ESPN, the Falcons must deal with the fallout of James Pearce Jr.’s recent arrest. The Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate is facing five felony charges and has bigger concerns than football at the moment.

Replacing Pearce will likely move to the top of Atlanta’s offseason to-do list. And while the Falcons have a nice core of talent, they must put pieces around Penix if they are going to take the next step in 2026.

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: ESPN ranks team 24th in 2026 NFL power rankings