Answers to 7 Biggest Atlanta Falcons Questions from The Athletic

The Atlanta Falcons have a slew of new faces in the starting lineup and calling the shots on defense. 

All of the changes have raised a lot of questions heading into a pivotal 2025 season for the Falcons. Josh Kendall of The Athletic raised seven of the biggest ones, and we have answers.

Question: How Accurate Can Michael Penix Jr. Be?

Answer: League Average

Michael Penix Jr struggled with accuracy during his first three starts for the Atlanta Falcons. He completed just 58.1% of his passes during those games. The only starter with a worse completion % last year was Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, at 47.1%.

Now this seems very alarming; however, one has to take into account that Penix was pushed into the starting role with hardly any first-team reps. His first throws in practice to Drake London and Darnell Mooney were Week 16, when he was officially announced as the starter against the New York Giants.

Not only does it take time to build chemistry with one’s wide receivers, but Penix was also slinging the ball with much more velocity than Kirk Cousins, leading to drops that would hit receivers in their hands (see Pitts, Kyle). 

In his final two seasons at Washington, Penix completed 65.3 and 65.4 percent of his passes, respectively. That is right around league average, and with a full offseason of reps with the starters, Penix should be able to achieve at least league average in 2025, while still completing explosive plays downfield. 

Question: Were Ruke Orhorhoro and Brandon Dorlus the wrong picks?

Answer: Too early to tell.

Sounds like a cop out answer, but it is true. The pair has only played a total of 166 snaps. They were picked to redshirt. With Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata as locked-in starters and good depth, Orhorhoro and Dorlus weren’t expected to be contributors any more than Michael Penix Jr. was. The Falcons were deep enough at defensive tackle that they waived sixth-round pick Zion Logue, who was hoovered off the practice squad by the Buffalo Bills.

If the Falcons were interested in an immediate contributor, they would have targeted a defensive back like cornerback Cooper DeJean, who went to the Philadelphia Eagles five picks later. Cornerback was a much bigger need than defensive tackle on the 2024 team, but Orhorhoro is stepping in to fill the shoes of Grady Jarrett as scheduled.

Question: Can they snap the playoff drought?

Answer: Yes.

Can the Falcons snap their playoff drought and will they snap their playoff drought are two completely different questions. Atlanta is absolutely set up to make a run for the playoffs and the NFC South. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have won the South four years in a row, lost offensive coordinator Liam Coen. Under him, quarterback Baker Mayfield threw 40 touchdowns for the first time in his career. He had previously never thrown for more than 28 touchdowns in a season.

The Falcons also added to their defense all offseason. They added three new pass rushers, two through the draft and one in free agency. They safety Xavier Watts to take over for Justin Simmons, who disappointed in 2024. Watts was PFF’s third-highest safety and 36th-highest ranked player in the draft; the Falcons got him at 96. Atlanta also added Billy Bowman, who they expect to compete for the nickel corner spot. 

Atlanta can and should be able to snap their playoff drought in 2025.

Question: Will the Pass Rush have a chance

Answer: Yes.

Atlanta completely revamped their pass rush. A unit that was dreadful last year before the bye week has now been strengthened. The Falcons are adding four new pass rushers into the fray: Leonard Floyd, Jalon Walker, James Pearce Jr, and Bralen Trice, who will be returning from injury.

Floyd has not had a season with fewer than 8.5 sacks since 2019. Walker recorded 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss last season. Pearce had 7.5 and 13. Trice led the entire NCAA in pressures in both 2022 and 2023. 

The biggest difference is addition through subtraction: the loss of Jimmy Lake. Former Falcons Matthew Judon complained about how often Lake had him dropping into coverage, instead of rushing the passer. 

CBS Sports’ John Breech believes the Falcons made enough additions to their pass rush that their woes should be “a thing of the past,”. 

Question: How much can Bijan Carry?

Answer: He doesn’t have to.

Bijan Robinson can carry the offense. However, if Michael Penix Jr is just above average, then he won’t have to. Robinson does not have to be a one-man army on offense. The Falcons averaged 32 points in Penix’s three starts.

Drake London and Bijan Robinson combined for 360 total yards of offense and four touchdowns in a Week 18 loss to the Panthers. This was also without Darnell Mooney, who had nearly 1,000 yards in 2024.

Atlanta has weapons outside of Robinson, including arguably the best number-two running back in the NFL in Tyler Allgeier. They do not need to solely rely on him to carry the offense.

Penix’s arm can also make life easier for Robinson. He has yet to have a quarterback who can open up the offense and push the ball downfield consistently; for this reason, defenses could stack the box to contain Robinson. Now, they will not be able to do so, out of respect for Penix’s arm. 

Question: What is Tyler Allgeier’s future?

Answer: This is probably his last year in Atlanta

Allgeier is a good running back; however, he will most likely be a cap casualty for Atlanta following the 2025 season. The Falcons will need money to get a Drake London extension done next offseason. Garrett Wilson, who was in the same 2022 draft class as London, just got a huge 4-year $130 million contract with $90 million guaranteed.

London’s extension should be around that value. Atlanta may also want to extend safety Jessie Bates next season, who will only have one year left on his contract.

With Robinson entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2026, keeping two second-contract premier running backs might be too much to ask.

Is it still all-11 personnel all the time?

This depends a lot on Kyle Pitts and what you decide to call 11-personnel (3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 RB). Charlie Woerner got more snaps than Pitts in the second half of last season. Ray-Ray McCloud was the main slot receiver.

Pitts will find himself in competition with both players. If Pitts is in the slot or lined up wide, where he spent 70% of his time prior to 2025, according to PFF. Should he be considered a second tight end if Woerner is on the field?

London is a better blocker than Pitts from the slot and out wide. 

Can Pitts block well enough to keep Woerner on the sidelines when he lines up inline next to an offensive tackle?

If Pitts and Woerner are on the field together, the statisticians will call it 12 personnel by default, but it’s not. Not unless Pitts has his hand in the rubber pellets next to Jake Matthews or Kaleb McGary. 

Yes, the Falcons will be mostly 11 personnel, even when Pitts and Woerner are on the field at the same time. 

The Falcons report to training camp on Wednesday with a first practice scheduled for Thursday. We'll start to get answers to some of these questions, but we won't have them all until the season gets rolling in September.