3 NFL teams that could go from worst to first in 2023 season

2. Atlanta Falcons

If I were a betting man, I would take it to the bank that the Atlanta Falcons are the most likely NFL team to go from worst to first in 2023. Maybe I’m vastly overestimating this team, but think about the context of the 2022 Atlanta Falcons.

They trotted out Marcus Mariota for the majority of their games. Mariota, the same guy that Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was part of benching when he was on the coaching staff with the Tennessee Titans. At times last season, the Falcons had one of the most dangerous offenses in the league despite being rather one-dimensional.

Now, Desmond Ridder takes the reins. The Falcons seem somewhat irrationally confident in Ridder’s ability to lead this team this coming season, or they’re really confident that they can turn to Taylor Heinicke and find success at any point in time.

At any rate, they have taken proper measures to support Ridder, investing in the offensive line while also bringing in players like Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and now Bijan Robinson in the top 10 of the NFL Draft the last handful of years. Because of the way the Falcons’ offense is currently constructed, the pick of Bijan Robinson actually makes a ton of sense.

A lot of people are just vehemently against taking running backs in the first round of the draft, but the presence of Bijan Robinson in the Falcons’ offense could be deadly. Tyler Allgeier ran for 1,000 yards in this offense last year, but the pick of Robinson is so much more than just finding a 1,000-yard runner.

The Falcons have aims on involving Robinson similar to the way we see Christian McCaffrey involved in the 49ers’ offense.

With a ton of free agent investments defensively, along with bringing in defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen from the Saints, I think Atlanta is poised to take a massive step forward this season as long as Desmond Ridder can play at a competent level.