The Atlanta Falcons have spent the past few seasons trying to find a long-term answer at quarterback. NFL draft analyst Field Yates doesn’t believe they have one yet.
That uncertainty was enough for Yates to make an aggressive call in ESPN’s early 2027 NFL mock draft with Mel Kiper Jr., sending Miami quarterback Darian Mensah to Atlanta with the No. 9 overall pick.
The notable part wasn’t simply that Yates went quarterback. It was that he openly admitted Mensah wouldn’t currently be ranked anywhere near that high on his own board.
“If I did a top-20 right now, Mensah probably wouldn’t be in my top-20,” Yates said. “But I just don’t know how this Falcons roster or franchise takes any meaningful steps if they don’t have an answer at QB. Reach be damned, I’m going a quarterback at No. 9.”
That says as much about Atlanta as it does Mensah.
ESPN’s Field Yates Makes Telling Darian Mensah Prediction
Mensah enters the 2026 season at Miami after a breakout year at Duke, where he passed for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and only six interceptions while helping the Blue Devils win an ACC championship.
He now takes over a Hurricanes offense that has recently featured high-profile transfer quarterbacks Cam Ward and Carson Beck. Another big season could push Mensah much higher in a 2027 quarterback class that is already generating considerable attention.
Kiper believes the situation around Mensah gives him a chance to make exactly that kind of jump.
“You’re projecting that Mensah’s going to have an unbelievable year,” Kiper told Yates. “Talent around him is spectacular and he certainly has arm talent and he can throw left, right — he’s accurate.”
Kiper also agreed with Atlanta as a potential landing spot, pointing to the uncertainty surrounding Michael Penix Jr. as a major reason the Falcons could again find themselves looking at quarterback.
That is what makes Yates’ pick more interesting than a typical September mock draft projection. He’s not saying Mensah is already the ninth-best prospect in the class. He’s saying Atlanta’s quarterback situation could become important enough that positional need overrides the current ranking.
Michael Penix Jr. Question Hangs Over Falcons
Penix entered the NFL as the No. 8 overall pick in 2024, with Atlanta betting he could eventually become its long-term starter.
That plan has become considerably less certain entering 2026.
Penix is coming back from a torn ACL suffered last season, while Tua Tagovailoa gives Atlanta another option at the position. The Falcons still have to determine whether either quarterback can become the answer Yates believes the franchise desperately needs.
Kiper’s concern over Penix only adds another layer to the projection.
If Penix plays well and establishes himself, the idea of Atlanta spending another top-10 pick on a quarterback becomes much harder to justify. If he struggles, misses time or leaves the Falcons with the same questions next offseason, quarterback could again move to the top of the team’s draft needs.
Mensah, who has yet to take a snap for the Hurricanes, would still have to make a significant rise for that scenario to become realistic.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano recently predicted the Falcons would be in the market for another quarterback in 2027 as well.
“It’s clear the Falcons are uncomfortable with their QB situation,” Graziano wrote.
Atlanta enters the 2026 season with four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. But it will ultimately come down between Penix and Tua Tagovailoa.
“But those are only possibilities at this point, and neither seems strong enough to ward off the likelihood that Atlanta’s 2027 quarterback isn’t on its 2026 roster,” Graziano added.
Mensah could be the answer.
Falcons Predicted to Land Top-10 Pick to Fix ‘Uncomfortable’ QB Situation