Falcons trail rest of NFC South in CBS Sports' power rankings

The 2026 NFL Draft was the last real chance for teams to improve their rosters for the upcoming season, and the Atlanta Falcons successfully added depth at a few key positions. Obviously, the team could only do so much without a first-round pick and limited salary cap space.

Nonetheless, the Falcons were able to acquire two potential Day-1 starters -- in Avieon Terrell and Zachariah Branch --along with a handful of high-upside players in Rounds 4-7.

CBS Sports' Pete Prisco released his post-draft power rankings, and it wasn't pretty for Atlanta. Not only did the Falcons stay at No. 24 overall, but they were ranked below the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers.

"They have a lot of young talent on the roster, but the issue is the quarterback," wrote Prisco. "Will Michael Penix Jr. be back sooner rather than later? If not, is Tua Tagovailoa going to start and revitalize his career?"

The Saints were ranked one spot ahead of the Falcons (No. 23) and one spot behind the Panthers (No. 22) on CBS Sports' power rankings. The Buccaneers were the class of the NFC South, landing at No. 16.

Even as the top team in the division, though, Tampa Bay still dropped three spots in this latest batch of power rankings.

Overall, it doesn't appear that CBS Sports is very high on the NFC South entering the 2026 NFL season, which is nothing new when it comes to this division.