The Falcons aren’t garnering much national attention right now, and why would they?
The club is coming off back-to-back 7-10 seasons and is relying on an unproven third-round quarterback in Desmond Ridder. I understand the hesitation to get behind the Falcons; however, this isn’t the same team. It’s by far the best roster of Arthur Smith’s tenure.
For the first time in what feels like forever, the front office had enough cap space to participate in the free agent market without limitations, resulting in a wave of talent joining the team.
Jessie Bates III, Calais Campbell, and David Onyemata headline the defensive additions, while Jonnu Smith and Bijan Robinson are the notable offensive additions. But it’s not just the top-end talent; the depth is better than it’s been in years.
In a weak NFC South, the Falcons are absolutely capable of winning the division and hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2016. That narrative is beginning to gain traction at the national level.
CBS came out and projected the Falcons to win 10 games en route to a division title, and Peter King of NBC Sports is the latest media pundit to voice their support for Atlanta.
I am paraphrasing King’s words, click the link to watch the entire video.
As one of the most well-respected names in the game, when King speaks, people listen, and he has some encouraging things to say about the Falcons. He dubbed Atlanta’s group of skill players the most interesting in the entire NFL.
Dake London is a bonafide star to King, and he’s exceptionally high on Mack Hollins, who Josh McDaniels loved working with. He says there isn’t a better tight end duo than Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith, along with King’s vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year last season in Tyler Allgeier and the unicorn Bijan Robinson.
King believes the Falcons will win the NFC South for all of those reasons, noting they’ll be a sneaky-good team. He also thinks not giving the club a primetime game is a big miss.
Now, the Falcons can still be flexed into a primetime slot at some point, but they’ll have to stack some wins before the league considers doing that. It’s encouraging to see the biggest names in the media voicing their support for the team because the fans always see things through rose-colored glasses.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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