The Falcoholic
We’re back for another year of naming five Atlanta Falcons who are worth watching every week. This week, the team kicks off the 2025 season with a home matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Fairly or unfairly, the Falcons have implicitly pushed a narrative all offseason that second-year quarterback Michael Penix will be a significant upgrade over predecessor Kirk Cousins. Based on how Cousins finished 2024, with one touchdown and nine interceptions in his final five starts, the expectation that Penix can outperform the worst version of Cousins isn’t particularly controversial. However, it remains to be seen if Penix can match the better version of Cousins seen earlier in 2024 when the Falcons got off to an impressive 6-3 record. And the very best version of Cousins showed up twice against the Bucs last year, with Cousins throwing for a combined 785 yards and eight touchdowns in two games, including a franchise-record 509 yards in Week 5.
Will Penix match those statistical highs out of the gate in his 2025 season debut? Will he need to put up that type of passing performance for the Falcons to win? All questions that only heighten the intrigue for the young quarterback entering the season.
Helping Penix reach whatever heights could be wideout Casey Washington, who is one of the options that could step in for injured Darnell Mooney, if he is absent on Sunday. Along with Penix, Washington is part of a 2024 Falcons draft class that saw very little playing time a year ago and hopes to become a bigger contributor in 2025. This opener against the Bucs may be his best chance, since once Mooney returns from his shoulder injury, there may be limited opportunities for Washington to see the field. However, if Washington can prove to be a reliable option for Penix in this first game, it’ll give the coaching staff more reasons to find more opportunities for him down the road.
Another player that is expected to take on a bigger role this week due to injuries is offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson. He’ll be stepping into the starting spot at right tackle, vacated by an injured incumbent Kaleb McGary. Wilkinson has logged 45 career starts, 20 of which have come at right tackle. But it’s been nearly four years since Wilkinson has started at the position, having spent the intervening years predominantly at guard, which speaks to perceived limitations at tackle. Will those limitations get exposed against Tampa Bay?
That’s an important question to answer because, unlike Washington, Wilkinson isn’t expected to start just one game. He will start for at least a month and may wind up starting nearly half the season, depending on when Storm Norton returns from his ankle injury. So his performance will go a long way to inspire confidence over whether or not he can hold up as an extended stopgap.
Any number of the Falcons’ young defensive unknowns could...
