Falcons Recap: Penalty problems, power rankings, Jack Strand hype

After a painfully long offseason, the Atlanta Falcons are officially back in business for the 2026 NFL season. Veterans arrived in Flowery Branch on Tuesday morning, and the team's first training camp practice is scheduled for Wednesday.

Fans won't have to wait much longer to get a look at this year's roster. The Falcons are holding several open practices, starting this Friday at IBM Performance Field.

In today's Falcons Wire Recap, all eyes are on undrafted rookie QB Jack Strand, The Athletic drops a new batch of NFL power rankings, Jake Matthews gets some love from PFF, and we examine Jawaan Taylor's penalty issues.

Falcons vets arrive, Brandon Dorlus ready to brawl

Fans aren't sure what to expect in the first camp under head coach Kevin Stefanski, but they won't have to wait much longer. The Falcons veteran players, including Drake London, Bijan Robinson and Brandon Dorlus, joined the rookies in Flowery Branch on Tuesday. Dorlus said he's expecting an intense camp and wouldn't be surprised if a brawl or two breaks out, per ESPN's Marc Raimondi .

DT Brandon Dorlus said that we should expect a lot of intensity in training camp and “maybe” some fights. Dorlus said he believes that would be a “good sign.” #Falcons

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) July 28, 2026 Jawaan Taylor penalty problems?

Jawaan Taylor is a pretty-decent tackle who comes with championship experience. However, one negative is his penchant for drawing penalties. According to  an analysis by Pro Football Focus , Taylor has gotten flagged more times than any other NFL player since 2021 by a wide margin.

"Over three years with the Chiefs and two with the Jaguars prior, Taylor racked up a league-leading 74 penalties, the most by a wide margin," wrote PFF. "He was especially a flag magnet protecting Patrick Mahomes, with 56 of those calls coming from 2023-25 alone. A key problem for Taylor has been illegal formation assessments, with his 10 in this span the second-most to only Braden Smith. Beyond that, Taylor was penalized for a league-high 35 holds." READ MORE

Falcons QB Jack Strand looks to make impression

Since practice starts tomorrow and there's still some uncertainty at quarterback, we thought it would be a good time to revisit our training camp spotlight on undrafted free agent QB Jack Strand. The former MSU-Moorhead signal-caller will need to outplay veteran Trevor Siemian for a roster spot, but there is a lot to like.

At 6-foot-4, 245 pound, Strand has a sturdy frame and an NFL-caliber arm. He clearly still needs some polish, but he has enough physical tools to at least compete for a backup job at the NFL level. One thing working to his advantage is accuracy.

Despite having a slightly unusual release, Strand's passes get there in a hurry and are usually on target. Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski believes accuracy is a quarterback's most-important trait, and that bodes well for Strand. READ MORE

Falcons ranked 24th in new power rankings

Those around the NFL still aren't buying into Atlanta this season. Falcons beat writer Josh Kendall listed the team at No. 24 in his pre-training camp power rankings, and it's hard to argue at the moment.

"Owner Arthur Blank wanted Matt Ryan back so badly that he invented a position for him, and the franchise’s all-time leading passer is now the royally titled president of football ( not  football operations, just  football )," wrote Kendall . "Ryan’s first two decrees were hiring veteran head coach Kevin Stefanski and first-time general manager Ian Cunningham. The trio now has to break the league’s second-longest active streak of not making the postseason (eight years)."

Jake Matthews ranked NFL's 26th OT by PFF

While he no longer serves as the team's blind-side protector, Falcosn left tackle Jake Matthews remains a model of consistency. However, the veteran did not get much love in  Pro Football Focus ' offensive tackle rankings. Matthews was ranked No. 26 in the NFL.

"Consistency is the operative word for Matthews’ game, as 2025 was his 11th consecutive season playing at least 1,000 snaps while posting at least a 77.0 PFF grade. His 82.4 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2025 ranked as the fifth-best mark among all qualified tackles. Matthews’ run-blocking has always lagged a bit behind his stellar pass protection, but the 34-year-old is still a very valuable piece of Atlanta’s offense." -  Dalton Wasserman & Max Chadwick,  PFF

B/R lists Falcons' strengths, weaknesses

Bleacher Report 's Kristopher Knox which names every team's biggest roster strength and weakness. Naturally, running back is named as their greatest strength, while quarterback was listed as their biggest weakness.

"If the Atlanta Falcons' offense doesn't lead with its rushing attack in 2026, it'll be a fairly significant surprise," wrote Knox. "Atlanta's backfield is headlined by do-it-all superstar Bijan Robinson. The 2023 first-round pick has seen steadily increasing production in the NFL and was a first-team All-Pro and the league's scrimmage-yards leader in 2025." READ MORE

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons Recap: Penalty problems, power rankings, Jack Strand hype

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