In 2021, the Falcons spent much of the season in an interesting place. Atlanta was in line for a top pick much of the year, but they also were in the playoff hunt until late, no matter how unlikely that might have seemed.
You may recall that in mid-December, the Falcons had a shot to make a real playoff push by beating the 49ers. They were sitting at 6-7 at that point and still very much in it, but a loss to the 49ers effectively doomed them. Even then, Atlanta wound up having slim playoff odds until the Bills killed their season for good in January, and they finished with the 8th overall pick.