Falcons land at No. 26 in PFF’s 2023 roster rankings

After dropping some serious cash this offseason, the Atlanta Falcons are finally in a position to make some noise in 2023. Not only do they have the NFL’s easiest strength of schedule, the other three teams in the NFC South have new starting quarterbacks.

The Falcons added some big names, including Jessie Bates III, Calais Campbell, David Onyemata and Bijan Robinson, while losing relatively few players in free agency. So, where did Pro Football Focus rank Atlanta in their early 2023 roster rankings?

PFF’s Dalton Wasserman and Jim Wyman listed the Falcons at No. 26, citing the offensive line as the strength of the roster:

Atlanta fielded decisively the best run-blocking unit in the NFL last season while also carrying the eighth-best pass-blocking grade as a team. Chris Lindstrom was the best guard in the NFL in 2022, and retaining Kaleb McGary at right tackle is a huge plus. Jake Matthews is still a very good pass protector on the left side, and Matthew Bergeron was added this year in the second round to potentially start at left guard. Bijan Robinson should excel early behind this group.

PFF named tight end Kyle Pitts as the biggest X-factor on the team going into 2023. As for Atlanta’s biggest weakness, Wasserman and Wyman pointed to second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder:

It’s tough to believe much in Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke at quarterback, though. Whoever starts likely won’t be expected to throw more than 25 times per game. They need to be efficient in the play-action game and limit turnovers to allow the run game to shine.

Ridder is arguably the biggest question mark on the team, and even after showing improvement over the final four games of the 2022 season, the former Cincinnati signal-caller has a lot to prove.

Still, some analysts are taking it a little too far. Chris Simms recently ranked Ridder at No. 40 on his top 40 QBs going into 2023. However, the Falcons have an elite running game and significantly upgraded their defense in free agency, so it won’t all be on Ridder to win games this season.

The Panthers (No. 24) came in two spots higher than the Falcons in PFF’s rankings, and the Buccaneers (No. 28) were ranked two spots below Atlanta. The Saints were the highest-rated team in the NFC South at No. 19.