Dynasty Fantasy Football Free Agency Preview 2026: Atlanta Falcons

Through their focus in recent NFL Drafts, the Falcons made themselves a top landing spot for NFL head coaches. They used top 10 picks on Michael Penix Jr, Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts. Of course, Kyle Pitts is a free agent, but the other three are all under contract and ready to go. That’s an exciting group for any play-caller.

But there’s still work to be done this offseason. And, believe it or not, that applies to the weapons as well. They have a star-studded group at the top, but you need depth to survive in the NFL. And, if Kyle Pitts does walk in free agency, new head coach Kevin Stefanski will need to figure out what to do at tight end - his favorite position. So let’s look at the roster, the contracts, and the scheme to predict what might happen in free agency and how it could affect our dynasty fantasy football leagues!

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*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Relevant Depth Chart

KEY

• White = unrestricted free agent
• Green = role is safe
• Orange = role could be in jeopardy
• Red = could be released

Atlanta Falcons Free Agency 2026

• PROJECTED 2024 SALARIES: $277M
• ESTIMATED 2024 CAP SPACE: $28M

Free Agent Types

Unrestricted free agent: Any player with four or more accrued seasons whose contract has expired. They are free to negotiate with any team.

Restricted free agent: A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. The CBA allowed for NFL teams to tender these players to one-year qualifying offers to retain them. Another team can sign them, but would need to provide the tendering team with compensation. In layman’s terms, if a new team signs a player, the current team can match it or they receive the corresponding pick from the new team. These are the projected RFA tender levels per OverTheCap.com:

• 1st Round - $7,893,000
• 2nd Round - $5,658,000
• Right of First Refusal - $3,453,000

Exclusive rights free agent: Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum, the player cannot negotiate with other teams. If the team wants the player back, these contracts are a no-brainer, as the player either needs to play on the contract or sit out. 

Falcons Quarterback Depth Chart

Michael Penix Jr: We constantly harp on the fact that quarterback is by far the most important position in football. Which is why it surprised me that the Falcons got so much pushback for signing a veteran QB in Kirk Cousins while drafting Michael Penix. This is a position that you NEED to figure out, so when it’s not sorted, that should be your number one priority. We didn’t scoff when the Bears drafted Colston Loveland at 10 overall despite having Cole Kmet on a pretty big contract, yet folks got very upset that the Falcons took Penix at 8 while having Cousins.

So far, it looks like the 2024 quarterback draft class is one of the best we have seen in a long time. Folks are pretty happy with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix so far. Unfortunately, injuries have limited the amount of Penix that we’ve seen    

Kirk Cousins: When Kevin Stefanski was hired, my first thought was that his familiarity with Kirk Cousins from his time with the Vikings would likely keep him in town. But the most recent reports are that Cousins will be released to save some money contract-wise. The restructure of his deal basically made it so he’d be paid $68 million if he’s on the team on March 13th, so they don’t want that to hit.

The curveball here is that it’s been suggested that they could bring him back on a cheaper deal. So basically, Cousins will have a chance to shop around to see if he can compete for a starting job before deciding to come back. Teams like the Raiders might want a veteran to compete with whoever they draft, while maybe his former employer, the Minnesota Vikings, could be on the table. 

Easton Stick: Stick was signed for depth, but I do not expect him to be the primary backup for the Falcons in 2026. 

Emory Jones: Jones spent most of the year on the practice squad and, like Stick, is a free agent going into 2026.

• Reserves/Futures: N/A

FALCONS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: We don’t know for sure what the timeline for Michael Penis Jr would be. Plus he’s also still a fairly young prospect. So having another veteran quarterback in the building to both run the show and help guide the young quarterback makes a lot of sense. Bonus points if they can help implement Kevin Stefanski’s offense.

To me, there are three obvious veteran candidates for the Falcons here. Kirk Cousins could be back to work with Kevin Stefanski again. Or Joe Flacco is another name that has worked with Stefanski. Ian Cunningham was also hired as the new GM and he had Flacco on the roster when he worked in Baltimore as well as briefly in Philadelphia before Flacco was traded to the Jets. The last name I’d throw out is Jacoby Brissett, who worked with Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland as well. Stefanski’s resume gives the Falcons some leverage here in terms of options.

• POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Kirk Cousins, Joe Flacco, Jacoby Brissett

Falcons Running Back Depth Chart

Bijan Robinson: Bijan Robinson is a super mega star. Simple as that. They will almost certainly pick up his fifth-year option after this season and will probably start extension talks soon. You can never have too many guys like Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs on your dynasty teams. 

Tyler Allgeier: Allgeier hits free agency here. And he has two options. The conservative move is often to stay put where you have a role with an organization that likes you. The ceiling is capped to mix in with Bijan Robinson, but the floor for your career is higher. Plenty of guys have made long, profitable careers being part of a committee like James White with New England. He was never really that starter, but he made good money and won a couple of rings.

The riskier move with more upside is to hit free agency. You’ll almost certainly be in some sort of competition for a job. If it goes well, you can make yourself a lot of money and a lot of fans. If it doesn’t, you could find yourself scrapping to stay in the league. Could go either way with Allgeier, but I do expect him to leave and try to earn a starting gig. 

Nathan Carter: Carter only recorded 61 total snaps on the season, and 59 of them came on special teams. Given how thin the running back room is, he could be back for depth, but he can also be released with zero dead cap. I don’t expect him to really be in the running for the RB2 role.

• Reserves/Futures: Carlos Washington Jr

FALCONS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: If Allgeier is gone, the Falcons will need a reliable RB2. They could go for a three-down back to serve as the pure backup to Robinson. But, given Robinson’s ability in the pass game, I expect them to potentially continue the rotation they have now with a bruiser back to complement what Robinson does. Here are the other options out there, which would require varying levels of financial investment. 

• POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Tyler Allgeier, Najee Harris, Isiah Pacheco, Brian Robinson, Dameon Pierce, A.J. Dillon, Nick Chubb

Falcons Wide Receiver Depth Chart

Drake London: London is a stud, and he plays the most difficult role for wide receivers as the big split end. So he’s locked in long-term as their top wide receiver. 

Darnell Mooney: Darnell Mooney has shown flashes throughout his career. But he’s also been inconsistent - and injuries have not helped with that. If Stefanski is going to continue with the scheme he’s historically run, that means more two-WR sets than three-WR sets, which puts an emphasis on having two versatile and reliable guys as your top two. Darnell Mooney is more of a field stretcher and is not the best blocker, so he could actually be a cut candidate here. They’d save over $7.4M in cap space and, if they designate him a post-June 1 cut, they could free up over $11M for this season.

David Sills: Sills ended up the de facto WR3 here once Ray-Ray McCloud was released. The Falcons deployed a lot of two-TE sets, so he really only played big snap shares in the games when Drake London was out. He’s an unrestricted free agent and could be back for depth, but he is not the answer at WR2.

Casey Washington: Casey Washington was the understudy for Darnell Mooney. He played 80-95% of the snaps in the two games that Darnell Mooney missed, but did not do much in any of the other games. He also didn’t play much special teams. He’s under contract on a cheap deal, but not a guarantee to be kept with a new scheme coming in.

KhaDarel Hodge: They like KhaDarel Hodge over there. But it’s also a new coaching staff. Historically, he stepped in for a few games when Drake London was out, but this past year, they went with David Sills instead. Hodge did play over 200 snaps on special teams, which is his path to staying on the team. But they can save $2.6M with only $600K in dead cap by releasing him, so that’s not a lock. He ended the year on IR with a shoulder injury.

Deven Thompkins: The Falcons made some interesting moves, releasing their top return guys during the season, Ray-Ray McCloud and Jamal Agnew. That saw Deven Tompkins take over both punt and kick returns down the stretch. Given their lack of depth in that realm, he could hang onto his spot in that capacity. He’s under contract on a cheap deal for 2026.

Dylan Drummond: Another depth piece that did not play much on offense nor contribute heavily on special teams. Between two years on the Lions and Falcons, he has only registered 7 catches. He can be released with zero dead cap.

Malik Heath: Heath started his career as a depth WR for the Packers, but was released towards the end of the year this past season. The Falcons added him, but he never appeared on offense for them. He’s an unrestricted free agent. 

• Reserves/Futures: Chris Blair

FALCONS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: Let’s assume, for this exercise, that Darnell Mooney is released. Kevin Stefanski’s offense doesn’t need heavy three-WR sets, but the top two wide receivers do play a ton, so you’d like to have two reliable and versatile players there. I’ve seen a lot of folks suggesting George Pickens, but Pickens is also a split end, like Drake London. You can never have too many guys like that, but I really only expect Pickens to leave the Cowboys if he wants to be a WR1 somewhere - and the Falcons already have one.

I don’t think you convince Mike Evans to jump ship from your division rivals either. So here are the top options that feel a little more realistic to me.

• POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Alec Pierce, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Romeo Doubs, Wan'Dale Robinson, Rashid Shaheed, Marquise Brown

Falcons Tight End Depth Chart

Kyle Pitts: The situation for Kyle Pitts is pretty simple, honestly. He’s seen bad QBs, bad OCs, bad injuries, bad roles. He and his agent should pick the team that has a role that suits what he does. Evan Engram had his 5th year option picked up, then left and did exactly that, joining Doug Pederson, where he could thrive.

If Pitts is back in Atlanta, that means Stefanski plans to use him the way he used Harold Fannin in a “big slot” capacity. If Pitts leaves, another team has a better role for him. We gave our full breakdown on where we rank Kyle Pitts for dynasty and our buy/sell/hold recommendation in our Top 10 Dynasty Fantasy Football Tight Ends article.

Charlie Woerner: Charlie Woerner is a great blocking tight end, a skill that Kevin Stefanski values dearly. So he’s one of the incumbents that I think fit in very well, though they need some sort of pass-catching tight end to complement him. 

Feleipe Franks: The quarterback turned tight end doesn’t really play much tight end. But he does play on four different special teams units. Only Mike Ford and JD Bertrand played more special teams snaps than Franks. So that’s his path to a new contract.

Teagan Quitoriano: Quitoriano didn’t play much offense, but, much like Franks, he was top five in special teams snaps. So whether he’s back or not is likely up to new special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman. 

FALCONS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: The first name that jumps out to me here is David Njoku. And he could be a candidate for the Falcons, whether or not they bring Kyle Pitts back, as Njoku could play the inline role he played alongside Harold Fannin. Or, if Pitts is gone, he could skew more pass-catching with Charlie Woerner inline. Assuming Pitts is out, pretty much all the top tight ends are on the table when it comes to Kevin Stefanski - here are the options.

• POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Kyle Pitts, David Njoku, Cade Otton, Dallas Goedert, Chig Okonkwo

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