Atlanta Falcons training camp is less than three weeks away, so we thought it would be a good time to answer some lingering questions as first-year coach Kevin Stefanski, first-year general manager Ian Cunningham and first-year president of football Matt Ryan get ready for their inaugural run.We hit everything from the quarterback race to the state of the roster to Zachariah Branch and Cash Jones. Hope you enjoy, and hang in there! Football season is right around the corner.Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.Can the Falcons defense survive 2026?Josh KendallIf you had to predict, do you think Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. will start Week 1 in Pittsburgh? Ultimately, I think it’ll be Tagovailoa due to experience and health. I think Penix has more upside with his arm talent and mobility, but Tagovailoa has more consistency with accuracy. — John K.Let’s knock this one out right at the top, but I’m going to have to start with a big qualifier. I sincerely don’t know, and I don’t think anybody does at the moment. This is a legitimate competition.With that caveat out of the way, if you’re making me pick right now, I’m picking Tagovailoa, and I think John nails the reasons. Stefanski has been very clear about how much he values accuracy, and Tagovailoa has been much better over the course of his career. Health is also a major factor. We don’t know if Penix will be cleared for full activity at the beginning of training camp, and any time he loses could be costly. The Falcons start training camp on July 29. Quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt said he’d like to have a starter picked “weeks” before the season opener on Sept. 13. That doesn’t leave much of a window for Atlanta to sort things out.However, I do believe that if Tagovailoa starts Week 1, Penix will get a shot at some point this season. My reasoning? Tagovailoa’s health is a question mark, his play of late doesn’t suggest he’s insurmountable on a depth chart and the Falcons have to figure out once and for all what they have in Penix.Has the Falcons' QB competition even begun?Josh KendallPick your poison: A. The Falcons’ brass, mindful of salary cap ($19.3 million of space on June 1, per OverTheCap) and draft pick limitations (only five picks and no first-rounder in 2026), approached the offseason hoping to duplicate what Bill Belichick did with the 2001 Patriots — acquire cheap, no-name veterans who were scheme-specific and would have clearly defined roles. Or B. Although they’ll never admit it publicly, they view the 2026 season as a mulligan. They’ll do their best to win this year, but they really have their sights set on 2027, when they are projected to have $110.35 million of cap space and a full complement of seven draft picks, with potentially more coming via compensatory picks. — Erik S.Erik has done a great job of laying out the core tension for the Falcons this season. I’m going to chicken out again (like I did with the quarterback question above) by pointing out that rarely is anything completely one lane or the other. I think there’s an important balance between these two approaches.Having said that, it is valuable for the purpose of framing expectations to pick a lane here, and I’m picking B. Stefanski, Cunningham and Ryan are all in their first year, and I think they see some real, foundational issues with the roster. Those don’t get fixed overnight. So my guess/belief/thought is that the executive trio is hoping for the best this year, but is unwilling to do anything that mortgages future seasons.ESPN just ranked the Falcons roster 29th in the NFL, tied with Arizona. What’s your own impression? Was former GM Terry Fontenot’s tenure really that bad? Facing a difficult schedule, should we keep our expectations low (even by Atlanta standards)? — Randall P.ESPN just ranked the starting lineups, which is only part of the equation. I would actually rank the Falcons’ starting roster higher than that because of Bijan Robinson, Drake London and a veteran offensive line.I think the bigger issue in Atlanta is the full 53-man roster. That I would rank around where their analysts have it. That doesn’t mean the Falcons are going to finish with the third-worst record in the league. They can overcome where they are with good coaching, better-than-expected quarterback play and confidence. But Cunningham and Ryan do have work in front of them.As for Fontenot’s role in this, it’s clear his tenure left some things to be desired, but I think his reputation in Atlanta is worse than it should be. The plan for the first three years was sound (and similar to what the current regime seems to be doing), but those Falcons didn’t get many breaks and never found even average quarterback play. At that point, panic sets in, and executives feel like they have to win right away, which leads to poor decision-making.Do you see a Falcons turnaround happening in the next couple of years? I don’t because we have huge questions coming on the offensive line, and we will probably run Bijan into the ground before we figure out the quarterback situation. — Mike M.I have more short-term future optimism than you do. Obviously, quarterback play is the most important thing — and it’s essentially impossible to predict right now — but teams in the league can turn things around in a hurry. The Patriots last year, for instance. I know, New England spent a ton in free agency (unlike the Falcons this offseason) and has an answer at quarterback (unlike the Falcons at the moment), and I’m certainly not suggesting Atlanta is a threat to get to the Super Bowl this season. However, this could be a playoff team this year if a lot of things go right. (I’m also more optimistic about the future of the offensive line and Robinson’s durability, but I understand where you’re coming from there.)Will Zachariah Branch be in the starting lineup for the first game? What do you expect his usage to be this season? — Orin B.Branch was as noticeable as any player on the field throughout OTAs and minicamp, but we have to guard against getting our expectations out of whack here. The average rookie season for third-round wide receivers since 2000 is 21 catches, 288 yards and two touchdowns, according to TruMedia.Certainly, there have been outliers. Keenan Allen had 71 catches for 1,046 yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season after being drafted 76th overall in 2013. (Branch was drafted 79th this year.) While Allen leads this particular pack, players like Terry McLaurin, Cooper Kupp, T.Y. Hilton and Josh Downs also topped 750 yards as rookies. So, if a team really, really hits on a third-round receiver, they can have an outsized impact, but that’s five players out of the 103 receivers drafted in the third round in that span.Do I think Branch will be among the team’s top three receivers in targets by the end of the year? Yes, and I think he could be as high as second. Let’s put my 2026 prediction down as 45 catches, 525 yards and three touchdowns.As a Georgia fan and a delusional Cash Jones believer, how has he been showing up this summer, and what are his chances of making the roster? — Joseph W.Maybe I’m delusional, too, but I have Jones circled as one of the undrafted free agents with a real shot to make the team, whether it be the 53-man roster or the practice squad. My reasoning is very scientific: He’s just the type of guy who tends to be sticky on a professional football team. Jones is athletic enough to play in the NFL, has five years of experience at a major college program and has the type of versatility that is even more valuable at this level than in college.The Falcons, I think, agree. And my evidence for that is they have moved him to wide receiver, which is probably the thinnest position on the depth chart. That doesn’t mean he won’t line up in the backfield eventually — because he certainly will if he sticks around. Add in his special teams value, and Jones has a real chance.Outside of quarterback, what’s the main thing that could keep the Falcons out of the playoffs this year? — Samuel H.Not enough playmakers on defense. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich did a really nice job last year, but Atlanta lost Kaden Elliss and David Onyemata in the offseason and could be without James Pearce Jr. for a large chunk of the season. I’m struggling to figure out where the big, momentum-swinging defensive plays will come from. Jessie Bates? Sure. After that, it’s a lot of maybes. A.J. Terrell? Divine Deablo? Jalon Walker? Xavier Watts? Brandon Dorlus? When there’s pressure on the coordinator every week to have the perfect game plan, that’s hard to sustain through an entire season.The Falcons were some unacceptably bad special teams plays away from winning the division last season. How confident are you that we will at least be league average this fall? — Guy M.Pretty confident. A lot of the free agents they signed have special teams backgrounds, and the new special teams coaches — Craig Aukerman and Chase Blackburn — have good reputations. Atlanta was 27th in the league in special teams EPA last season (minus-23.9), according to TruMedia. If you go back further, it gets worse. In the last five seasons, the Falcons are 30th in special teams EPA (minus-66.92). In the last 10 seasons, they have only had above-average special teams play (as measured by EPA) three times.