By: Jake Rajala
With the former Minnesota Vikings legend Kirk Cousins gone, the quarterback group is left to the left handed QB Tua Tagovailoa and to another left handed QB in Michael Penix. The question is: which QB has the edge? They are both former first round picks. They demolished defenses in college. At the NFL level, they have seen better days. With that said, I expect the Falcons to let the two duke it out and let the best QB to start in 2026. So, I’m going to lay out the case for each QB to start.
Tua:
Tua has been seen as one of the most underrated signal-callers over the past several years. He led the league in passing yards in 2023 and then led the league in completion percentage in 2024. Sadly, his glory days were gone in 2025, as he threw 15 interceptions. He had a PFF grade of 62.1 last season. Clearly, he should have played better. I will give him a bit of an excuse, as he didn’t have Tyreek Hill. Hill was arguably the best player on the roster. We all remember him being cast as the best “overall” player in the league. With the speed demon Jaylen Waddle also gone, I believe Tua may be happy to no longer be there. I don’t like that they broke the bank for former Green Bay Packers QB Malik Willis (after he started one game last season) and left him empty-handed.
Michael Penix
There has been impressive highlight reels of Michael Penix having incredible accurate throws. I’m not saying he’s Drew Brees or Matt Ryan, but he still has a lot of potential. Penix threw nine touchdowns to three interceptions and had a rating of 88.5. Still, that wasn’t enough. He went 3-6 with the Falcons last season. He can’t afford to have three or fewer wins this upcoming season. This will be his third season in a Falcons uniform. I’d love to see Penix be more clutch on third downs and in the red zones.
Sure, each QB is talented and it will make it a fascinating QB battle. I don’t imagine the Falcons will draft a QB early in the 2026 NFL Draft. The winner will have a stellar offense to play with. The Falcons have Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson. They also play in a division where the other three defenses aren’t 15th or better in PPG!
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