2023 NFL Power Rankings: Atlanta Falcons

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 3 roundup for the Atlanta Falcons in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 11

Player: CB A.J. Terrell
Current contract situation: Under contract through the 2024 season

The fourth-year cornerback still has his fifth-year option to play on in 2024, but how Atlanta handles his contract will be worth watching. At this point there's little reason to believe Terrell would not get extended -- he's a team leader, one of the best young corners in the league and a franchise staple -- it's just a matter of when. That "when" could be close to the new league year as there's precedent from Atlanta here. That's when Falcons right guard Chris Lindstrom received his deal in March. -- Michael Rothstein

NFL.com -- Rank: 14

That's two home victories against teams breaking in new quarterbacks in two weeks. But Atlanta has a newish QB, as well, and the Falcons have now won four straight games started by Desmond Ridder. He threw his first career interception and frankly should have had two more (one a potential pick-six, the other in Green Bay's end zone). But Ridder found answers on Sunday, both as a runner (posting 39 rushing yards and a crucial fourth-down TD run) and thrower. There was some trust on two big passes in the fourth: the 45-yard flea flicker to Mack Hollins and the 24-yard dart to Drake London that set up the go-ahead field goal. There's room to grow, but Ridder made his biggest plays when his team needed them most.

Continue reading Atlanta Falcons NFL Power Rankings Roundup

2023 NFL Predictions: NFC South

Before the start of the season, we will post NFL division-by-division predictions for the 2023 NFL regular season and postseason.

Instead of projecting an outright winner and loser in all 272 regular-season games, we've assigned a win probability to each team in every game and totaled them up.

The four NFC South teams are projected to win the sixth-most games combined in our 2023 full-season projections.

See where the Falcons stand in our 2023 NFC South Predictions

2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Atlanta Falcons

Our Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.

Below you will find our 2023 fantasy football projections for the Atlanta Falcons.

MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams

QUARTERBACKS

Player	Att.	Comp.	Yards	TD	INT	Rush	Yards	TD	Points
Desmond Ridder	447.7	286.5	3089.1	16.34	10.74	48.3	193.2	1.45	195.46
Taylor Heinicke	61.1	38.8	430.8	2.57	1.71	12.4	46.5	0.31	30.6

Desmond Ridder: Ridder, who started four games as a rookie, enters 2023 atop the depth chart. In his four starts in 2022, he completed 73-of-115 pass attempts (63.5%) for 708 yards (6.2 Y/A) with only two touchdowns (1.7 TD%) and no interceptions. While the Falcons will continue to rely heavily on their ground game, the team's talented young pass catchers (Drake London, Kyle Pitts and rookie running back Bijan Robinson) will help him develop in his second season.

Taylor Heinicke: If Ridder struggles in 2023, it's possible that Heinicke could make some starts. Neither Ridder nor Heinicke are draftable in single-quarterback leagues.

MORE: Continue reading our 2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons: 2023 NFL Schedule

Below you will find the weekly NFL regular-season schedule for the Atlanta Falcons in 2023.

MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET) / Tickets
Week 1	Sun., Sep. 10	vs. Carolina Panthers	W 24-10
Week 2	Sun., Sep. 17	vs. Green Bay Packers	W 25-24
Week 3	Sun., Sep. 24	at Detroit Lions	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 4	Sun., Oct. 1	at Jacksonville Jaguars	9:30 AM / Tickets
Week 5	Sun., Oct. 8	vs. Houston Texans	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 6	Sun., Oct. 15	vs. Washington Commanders	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 7	Sun., Oct. 22	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 8	Sun., Oct. 29	at Tennessee Titans	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 9	Sun., Nov. 5	vs. Minnesota Vikings	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 10	Sun., Nov. 12	at Arizona Cardinals	4:05 PM / Tickets
Week 11		BYE
Week 12	Sun., Nov. 26	vs. New Orleans Saints	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 13	Sun., Dec. 3	at New York Jets	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 14	Sun., Dec. 10	vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 15	Sun., Dec. 17	at Carolina Panthers	TBD / Tickets
Week 16	Sun., Dec. 24	vs. Indianapolis Colts	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 17	Sun., Dec. 31	at Chicago Bears	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 18	Sun., Jan. 7	at New Orleans Saints	TBD / Tickets

MORE: Atlanta Falcons historical W-L records - Atlanta Falcons historical head-to-head records

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SOS)

How easy or difficult is the fantasy football schedule for Atlanta Falcons players?

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule by position:

Atlanta Falcons Mock Draft Roundup 1.0

Throughout the year and leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we will update our Atlanta Falcons Mock Draft Roundup showing picks for the Atlanta Falcons from several prominent sites and draft analysts.

The following are picks in recent mock drafts for the Atlanta Falcons:

EDSFootball - Kevin Hanson (5/9)

7. Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama

The Falcons have spent three Friday selections on edge defenders — Arnold Ebiketie (38th, 2022), DeAngelo Malone (82nd, 2022) and Zach Harrison (75th, 2023) — in the past two draft classes. For a team that has consistently ranked at or near the bottom of the league in sacks recently, however, investing more (and even higher) draft capital to fix the problem would make sense. Turner is an explosive edge rusher with 18 TFLs and 12.5 sacks in his first two seasons at Alabama.

CBS Sports - Josh Edwards (5/8)

8. Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

Maye has the arm strength and size but decision-making needs to improve.

ESPN - Todd McShay (5/4)

7. Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

I had Verse in my midseason top 32 rankings for the 2023 class before he decided to go back to school. And he'll be high on the board again for 2024 after compiling nine sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss last season. The snap in his hips and hands jumps out on tape, and he's at his best overwhelming offensive tackles with speed-to-power. Verse also mixes in an effective inside move and can beat interior linemen clean when he kicks inside. The Falcons were 31st in sacks last year (21) and might be replacing Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree next offseason. (As an aside, Atlanta could be in the quarterback market, too. Desmond Ridder hasn't secured the long-term gig just yet.)

The Athletic - Dane Brugler (5/2)

8. Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

A projected first-round pick had he entered the 2023 NFL Draft, Verse enjoyed his first year in Tallahassee and decided to stay for another season. His play speed and NFL-quality hand usage make it tough for blockers to control him.

MORE: Continue reading our 2024 Atlanta Falcons Mock Draft Roundup

Atlanta Falcons - 2023 Draft Results

The table below are all of the 2023 NFL Draft picks selected by the Atlanta Falcons.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School
1	8	Bijan Robinson	RB	Texas
2	38	Matthew Bergeron	OT	Syracuse
3	75	Zach Harrison	EDGE	Ohio State
4	113	Clark Phillips III	CB	Utah
7	224	DeMarcco Hellams	S	Alabama
7	225	Jovaughn Gwyn	G	South Carolina

More: 2023 NFL Draft Results - Atlanta Falcons Draft History