Blogging Dirty

The Atlanta Falcons found a steal in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Harold Perkins Jr., a linebacker and superstar athlete out of LSU, was never supposed to be available late on Day 3. Yet, there he sat at pick 215, and the Falcons couldn't run the card to the podium quick enough. Now, they are watching him do everything it takes to become a superstar in the NFL. He has been working with a Georgia legend this offseason as he prepares for his first training camp.

Nobody will argue with the implication that the Atlanta Falcons are sitting on one of the NFL's most dynamic young talents in Bijan Robinson. Every single time he touches the ball he's must-see TV and is a threat to be a house call on any given play. If that's not a generational talent, I don't know what is. It's insane to think that he's only 24 years old and three years into his career, because if I didn't know any better, I'd think he's already been in the league for around a half-decade.

The NFC South looks to be the most competitive division in football in 2026. There isn't a clear-cut best team, nor is there any team that can be written off. The division is a lot like a NASCAR race at Talladega; anyone can win, and anyone can finish last. Someone could predict the finishing order of the NFC South, and none of the possible outcomes seem far-fetched. Because it's such a tightly contested division, all it takes is one factor for a team to separate itself from the pack.

The Atlanta Falcons signed their fair share of reclamation projects this offseason, and they all have different things to prove in their first season in Atlanta. Tua Tagovailoa is looking to prove he's a capable starting QB, while Christian Harris is hoping to prove the Texans wrong for benching him. And for all of the many short-term starters the Falcons found in the bargain bin this free agency, one of those specific players stands out.

The Atlanta Falcons have been strategic with the moves they've made in their first offseason under new leadership. And that's not a pattern I would expect to kick then bucket anytime soon, because Kevin Stefanski and Ian Cunningham know what they're here to do, and that's win football games. During the league's summer break before training camp starts, the expectation has been that the free agent market will enjoy a renaissance of sorts, as it typically does around this time of year.

It seems that not many people are aware of how good Kyle Pitts is because of the weight of expectations that have followed him for a half-decade. When the Atlanta Falcons made him the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history, he was expected to transform the perception of the position. And while Pitts has been a plenty good player, he's never come close to the "generational" label he got coming out of college.

The jury's still out on whether or not the Atlanta Falcons are going to be near the top or the bottom of the NFL standings in 2026. Atlanta is entering a new era with Kevin Stefanski and this team's aspirations are pretty much going to be a mystery box until we see this team take the field in Week 1.

The Atlanta Falcons are in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought, but they're banking on a new regime ending that streak. Talent was never exactly the issue, it was coaching, and Kevin Stefanski is more qualified to lead this team back to the promised land than Raheem Morris or Arthur Smith was. The Falcons are in an interesting spot. They have a highly-talented roster, but their question marks at the quarterback position have overshadowed this team's 2026 aspirations.

The Atlanta Falcons are basically a factory for producing running backs in a way that would make Willie Wonka proud. You obviously have Bijan Robinson, and from there, the number of productive NFL running backs get less flashy, but it doesn't take away from the lineage the Falcons produced. Devonta Freeman had a couple of good years, Michael Turner was a stud, and as we continue going backwards, Warrick Dunn, Jamal Anderson, Gerald Riggs, and William Andrews had their good seasons as well.

The Atlanta Falcons are still reeling from the effects of losing Kaden Elliss in free agency. But the worst part wasn't losing him, it was who they lost him to. The veteran linebacker signed a three-year deal worth $33 million to return to the New Orleans Saints, which made the loss sting even further. The Saints lost 37-year-old Demario Davis in free agency and replaced him with a man they were plenty familiar with.