Our very own Alex Lord recently did a piece covering ESPN’s positional group rankings. Unsurprisingly, the Falcons had some very promising and very discouraging marks across the board.
On the good side, the Falcons were rated very highly across the trenches on both sides of the ball. They also feature arguably the best running back and tight end rooms in football, and their safety play will improve tremendously with the addition of Jessie Bates III.
On the flip side, Desmond Ridder doesn’t have many believers just yet, which he shouldn’t base on last year’s mini four-game audition. Atlanta’s wide receivers also leave a lot to be desired, and defensively, there are holes at all three levels on the edge, at linebacker, and at corner.
This is far from a perfect roster, but it is by far the most competent group of Arthur Smith’s tenure as head coach, and he’s been able to turn in back-to-back 7-10 campaigns. The Falcons should be legitimate contenders in the NFC for a playoff berth, yet ESPN ranks their roster as the 29th best in the NFL.
On the latest episode of SportsTalkATL, we discuss the ranking and why it makes little sense. You can find full episodes on the Fox 5 Streaming App. Individual segments, like the one below, can also be found on our YouTube channel. Like and subscribe!Â
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Photo: Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire
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