When considering Atlanta's biggest improvement of the 2025 offseason thus far comes to one underwhelming conclusion. The team's biggest step forward has been an influx of special teams' depth. The Falcons have added speed and motor to the unit, helping with the NFL's new "dynamic" kick-off rules. While any improvement is helpful, the team still hasn't made any push toward reclaiming a wide open NFC South.
If the season were to begin today, any improvement sits entirely on the shoulders of Michael Penix Jr. It is an alarming rewind to Matt Ryan's early tenure with the team. The offense was the focus, with consistent defensive liabilities that prevented Ryan and the Falcons from ever winning it all. With this in mind, Atlanta's early offseason strategy remains a frustration.
Atlanta's lone offseason improvements have been adding notable special teams' depth
A part of this influx brought back a familiar face in former quarterback Feleipe Franks. Franks was a mainstay on Arthur Smith's rosters, departing Atlanta ahead of the 2024 season and spending last year in Carolina. The fact that this remains one of the team's noteworthy moves speaks to how quiet the offseason has been for the Falcons. In a year when the team should be focused on building a defense capable of supporting a young quarterback, they appear content to take a step back.
To be completely fair, we are still in the very early stages of the offseason, and the Falcons have a myriad of ways to open more cap space. The confusing piece of this is where they would spend it with this offseason's wave of defensive free agents already picked over. Atlanta's main focus appears to be attempting to move on from Kirk Cousins and evaluating their young quarterback.
This is understandable in some ways after the failure of last season. However, it gives Atlanta a limited ceiling and turns up the pressure on Penix to carry an underwhelming roster. Still, in a weak NFC South, perhaps Atlanta will do enough to finally find their way back into relevance.
