July 11, 2026, 12:01 p.m. ET

Training camp for the Atlanta Falcons will begin in 18 days, kicking off a new era for the franchise. The organization may look much the same on the field, but their leadership has undergone a dramatic makeover this offseason. Atlanta has a new head coach, a new general manager and a new President of Football in Matt Ryan, who apparently has the final say on all football-related matters.

The elevator pitch on the Falcons is that they have just about every piece they need to contend – except the one that matters most: a capable and proven starting quarterback.

Even without that critical final piece of the puzzle, this team deserves more respect than it’s been getting this offseason. The latest example comes from Bleacher Report, where the Falcons have come in at No. 27 in their pre-training camp power rankings.

“The Falcons have a terrific skill group led by Bijan Robinson, and their defense, which ranked 15th overall last season, has some legitimate playmakers. However, Atlanta enters training camp with the fourth-worst QB situation, at least until it proves otherwise. Atlanta has a playoff-caliber roster, and new head coach Kevin Stefanski has shown that he can deliver a playoff berth when he has a legitimate starter behind center. The hope is that the impending battle between former first-round picks Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa will yield a legitimate starter.”

“Terrific skill group” and “playoff caliber roster” aren’t usually the kinds of phrases that you see associated with teams this low in any power rankings list, especially paired with an acclaimed new head coach at the helm.

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Nobody is saying that the Falcons should be considered a top-10 team, or that they’re even guaranteed to make the playoffs in a very weak division. It’s just difficult to believe that Atlanta belongs with the dregs of the league such as the Giants, Titans, Jets, Browns and Dolphins.

At a bare minimum, the Falcons should be placed higher than the Raiders, Commanders, Saints, Colts and Vikings. That would put them at a more-realistic No. 21 in these rankings.

Nevertheless, this disrespect is only going to continue until Atlanta finds a solution at quarterback, which is the source of all their problems and the off-base perceptions about how good this roster is.