FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons open the 2023 NFL regular season against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 10 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said multiple times throughout the offseason he wanted it to be difficult to make Atlanta's roster this season, in part because it would mean there was an upgrade in talent and also because it would indicate more depth than the Falcons have had in their first two seasons under Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot.
While top-line players like defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Drake London are obvious, what happens through the rest of the roster will be critical. Throughout the offseason, both through transactions and on-field work, it appears the depth will be greater than last season, but we'll know more a month from now when training camp ends and the roster is finalized.
Here is my pre-training camp 53-man roster projection: