ESPN analyst predicts Falcons will use QB Jack Strand in fascinating way in Week 2 image
The Atlanta Falcons came into the 2026 NFL season with Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa competing for the starting job. But now, neither is healthy enough to suit up for the team through at least the first two weeks.
Third-string QB Cooper Rush got the Week 1 start, and he's now slated to get the Week 2 start as well. Atlanta's QB4 on the depth chart, undrafted rookie free agent Jack Strand, is the backup once again. But despite the calls for Strand, he's not likely to play.
ESPN's Ben Solak is predicting something slightly different. Instead, he is predicting Strand will score a touchdown for the Falcons in Week 2, but not in the way most quarterbacks would score. Solak is predicting Strand will be used in a slightly odd way.
Falcons predicted to use Jack Strand in an odd, but smart way in Week 2
"Falcons QB Jack Strand will score a touchdown," Solak predicts. "Even with Rush getting the Week 2 start, Strand is an enormous player (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) who should get short-yardage usage as a QB sneak expert."
While Solak is predicting Strand to score a touchdown in Week 2, it's not as a passer or even as a scrambler. Instead, it's on a quarterback sneak.
Rush isn't a small quarterback by any means, coming in at 6-foot-3, 224 pounds. But Strand has a bit more height and weight on him that could be the difference between a touchdown and a stop at the goal line.
Swapping in a new quarterback for a quarterback sneak, or tush-push, is something that's been done before. A team with a smaller, less explosive QB could swap in a bigger quarterback to run the sneak play call.
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The Seattle Seahawks, for example, will use tight end A.J. Barner as their sneak expert. The Falcons could decide to roll with Strand as their sneak expert.
He's younger and more explosive than Rush, and is a bit bigger as well. He could help the Falcons in the running game on sneaks, something that Rush might not be as good at.
Solak is predicting that Strand will score a touchdown in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers, and will do so on a quarterback sneak.
It would certainly be an interesting play design and call for the Falcons, but this bold prediction isn't totally impossible, even though it's very unlikely.
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