Atlanta

Falcons

It’s not really a stretch when you consider Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus are the two other receivers behind Drake London that are competing for real time on the Falcons. Branch isn’t exactly a lock to be fantasy-relevant as a rookie, but if he shows more than expected, the door is wide open for him in Atlanta.

In his Falcons summer mailbag article, Kendall was asked to give his opinion on who he believes will start the season opener for the Falcons. While he was quick to say “I sincerely don’t know,” before pointing out Tagovailoa and Michael Penix are engaged in “a legitimate competition,” Kendall said he ultimately believes Tagovailoa will be the Week 1 starter. While some of this hinges on the health of Penix’s knee, Kendall also added that head coach Kevin Stefanski values accuracy, which he believes will give Tagovailoa the inside edge. It’s a hard point to argue against, as Penix has completed just 59.6 percent of his passes for his career, while Tagovailoa, in his worst season, completed 64.1 percent of his passes. Kendall said he believes we will ultimately see both quarterbacks play this season, due in part to Tagovailoa’s health but also because the Falcons need to get a look at what Penix, a former No. 8 overall pick, can offer the franchise long term as he enters his third season. The health of Penix could go a long way in deciding this QB competition, but this is likely to be a messy QB situation for much of the season, regardless of who is under center. Fantasy managers drafting in 2QB/Superflex leagues should likely look to Tagovailoa if they’re in need of a second starter early in the season.

Trice tore his ACL in a 2024 preseason game against the Dolphins, then missed all of last year on injured reserve when he had a setback. The 2024 third-rounder has yet to play in an NFL game, but could push for a roster spot this year if he manages to stay healthy.

Branch was highly effective on manufactured touches at Georgia and the Falcons could use a wideout who specializes in YAC. He stayed after practices to get extra reps on the jugs machine and got reps as both a kick and punt returner. Those may not have direct impacts on his fantasy value, but it can’t hurt to see him doing the little things every day. He will likely top out as the team’s third receiver to start the year. That role could quickly grow if he outshines Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus.

The Falcons had previously waffled a bit on potentially making Pitts available after “President Of Football” Matt Ryan took over, but must have liked what they saw in the early offseason. Pitts currently looks to be slated for the No. 2 receiver role in Atlanta behind Drake London and should be a fantasy-viable TE1 this year. (Words that have never come back to bite anyone.) Pitts settles for slightly below George Kittle’s $19.1 million per year and Trey McBride’s $19 million per year and will remain in Atlanta for the near future.

The Atlanta depth chart at wideout is sparse even after we account for third-round pick Zachariah Branch in the draft. The No. 2 receiver right now might be Jahan Dotson. Olamide Zaccheaus is also in the picture. The Falcons still have $27 million in cap space but we’ve rarely heard them mentioned by national reporters as interested in the Stefon Diggs/Deebo Samuel/Keenan Allen best veteran free agent wideout tier. Those guys aren’t mentioned in this report either, but they do make plenty of sense from a roster standpoint.

Bowman suffered a torn Achilles in late November and is a potential PUP candidate. Darnay Holmes and second-rounder Avieon Terrell are candidates to fill the void if Bowman — who was having a marvelous rookie year before he got hurt — is unable to make it back before the start of the season.

Atlanta “appears to be waiting” on the league to decide how they want to punish Pearce. Cameron Sutton was suspended eight games in 2024 for a similar incident, which Kendall mentions and certainly could serve as a blueprint for how this plays out. Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said they have not received any communication from the league on this subject. It certainly would be surprising if Pearce weren’t eventually suspended to some extent.

The Falcons designated Hayball as their exempt international player, so he does not count against the team’s 90-man roster limit. He played in all 17 games with the Saints as a rookie in 2024, averaging 44.0 yards per punt on 75 attempts. He did not play in 2025. Hayball will compete with veteran P Jake Bailey this year.

The “we’ll see” from Stefanski yesterday wound up being “no.” In other words, Falcons mandatory minicamp will be the Tua Tagovailoa show. Penix is a more realistic candidate to be ready to go in training camp. However, ceding these reps to Tagovailoa will probably put the veteran quarterback in the lead of their upcoming battle heading into camp. It feels likely that both quarterbacks will get a shot at some point, barring Tagovailoa turning back the clock a few years.