Falcons ranked 26th in PFF’s midseason roster rankings

The Atlanta Falcons are in a tight division race at the midway point of the 2022 NFL season. Few expected the team to be in this position, but thanks to a dominant ground game, Atlanta has a realistic shot at making the postseason for the first time since 2017.

So just how good are the Falcons through the first nine games? Atlanta’s roster is rated 26th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus’ midseason rankiings.

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PFF’s Brad Spielberger examines each team’s greatest strength, weakness and X factor at the midway point. For strength, PFF highlights the Falcons’ run blocking:

“Atlanta’s 74.3 run-blocking grade is third-best in the NFL, and whether it’s Cordarrelle Patterson, rookie Tyler Allgeier or anyone else, the Falcons are creating a major push up front to pave the way. Atlanta’s 1.8 yards before contact per attempt ranks sixth, and rushers have been stuffed on only 6.0% of carries, the sixth-lowest rate on the year.“

The Falcons are averaging 162.9 yards per game, which is currently fourth in the league. PFF chose edge defender as the team’s greatest weakness, but then highlighted rookie OLB Arnold Ebiketie as Atlanta’s X factor for the second half of the season.

“With the lack of edge talent highlighted above, Ebiketie’s continued emergence might be the key to Atlanta making the playoffs,” writes Spielberger. “Over the past five weeks, Ebiketie’s 11 quarterback pressures are more than the rest of the group combined, as are his five quarterback hits, with no one else even at two.“

As we’ve noted before, the Falcons will have the money to add some top-end talent to their roster in 2023. Currently, the team is projected to have over $70 million next offseason.