Meet the Falcons’ 2026 NFL draft class: Grades, quotes and analysis

“We got some good players that are going to be able to help our football team offensively and defensively,” Cunningham said. “It was a great experience.”

Here’s a rundown of the Falcons’ 2026 NFL draft class, including analysis and quotes from the players and decision-makers who comprised it.

Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson

Pick: Round 2, No. 48 overall

Analysis: While the Falcons sat and watched the first 47 picks unfold Thursday and Friday night, they were surprised by the number of cornerbacks still remaining. Only three were off the board by the time the Falcons were on the clock in the second round.

During a strategy meeting Friday morning, Falcons president of football Matt Ryan asked Cunningham, “Who are the guys that you wouldn’t trade off of?”

Cunningham’s top player? Avieon Terrell.

“We didn’t think he would be there,” Cunningham said. “So, we were excited when he was there and we were able to pull the trigger.”

Terrell started 31 games over three years at Clemson, including 26 in his final two, and collected 125 tackles, 25 pass breakups, eight forced fumbles and four interceptions in 39 games. He earned second-team All-ACC honors in 2024 and was a second-team Associated Press All-American in 2025.

The younger brother of Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell, Avieon told reporters Saturday morning he’s hugged his new teammate around 20 times already. They usually don’t hug, opting instead for daps, but this is a special occasion — a dream both brothers envisioned but never thought it would.

Now, they’re excited to get to work.

“(Other teams) made a mistake letting me and my bro team up,” Avieon said. “They weren’t supposed to let that happen.”

The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Terrell was a projected first-round pick for much of last college football season but fell down the board after running a 4.64 40-yard dash on a sore hamstring. He has experience playing both nickel and outside corner, adding depth and talent to the Falcons secondary.

Grade: A-

What Terrell said: “I’m a ‘dawg’. I’m a competitor. I’m coming in to be a leader. I’m a very vocal leader and, like I said, somebody who’s very versatile, that can do anything in the secondary.”

What Cunningham said: “A.J.’s obviously a really good player, but Avieon’s his own man. And to be able to just grade him for who he was, who he is, we’re excited to get him. He’s tough, competitive, scrappy, plays the ball, plays the game the way that we want our guys to play. We’re just excited to get a player of this caliber at the point of the draft where we got him.”

Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia

Pick: Round 3, No. 79 overall

Analysis: The Falcons wanted to add more speed and playmaking at receiver, and Zachariah Branch offers both in abundance. He ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and set Georgia’s single-season record with 81 receptions last season.

Branch thrived on quick-hit passes — his average depth of target was 3.6 yards last season, according to Pro Football Focus — and Stefanski said the Falcons will “continue to lean into” some of the things Georgia asked Branch to do.

But the Falcons believe Branch has more within his skill set. Cunningham said the team went back and watched Branch’s tape from USC, where he spent his first two college seasons, and saw him run a more extensive route tree.

“You have an even greater appreciation for the skill set and what he’s able to do,” Cunningham said Friday night. “We feel excited about the player, what we’re going to be able to do with him.”

Branch caught 159 passes for 1,634 yards and nine touchdowns across three college seasons. He led Georgia with 811 receiving yards and six receiving scores in 2025 en route to second-team All-SEC honors.

The Falcons also valued Branch’s return ability. He was an All-American return specialist in 2023, the first true freshman in USC history to earn such recognition, after leading the nation with 20.8 yards per punt return and notching a pair of return scores. Branch also earned third-team All-SEC accolades in 2025 as an all-purpose player.

Branch took an official visit to the Falcons in April and felt his personality and character meshed well with the team’s coaching staff. The Falcons agreed, putting no weight in his April 19 arrest on two misdemeanor charges in Athens, and Stefanski believes Branch will be a bonus to the team’s locker room.

“We can talk through the schematic fit,” Stefanski said, “but the personal fit, the culture fit, the fit in our locker room, the fit in what we believe in is really strong.”

Grade: A-

What Branch said: “I’m just trying to be a playmaker overall, wherever they want me to be — offense, special teams, whatever it is. I want them to do whatever it takes.”

What Stefanski said: “Just a player that you can really line up all over the field. If you go back and watch his tape over the course of his different stops and the way he was utilized, I think there’s a ton of versatility there. Also, he provides value in the return game, which is no small thing.”

Kendal Daniels, LB, Oklahoma

Pick: Round 4, No. 134 overall

Analysis: Kendal Daniels is something of an oversized hybrid player with an intriguing background. He spent the first four years of his career at Oklahoma State before transferring to Oklahoma for his final season, and he transitioned from safety to linebacker before the 2024 season.

The 6-foot-5, 242-pound Daniels played Oklahoma’s “cheetah” role in 2025, which included, as he views it, “extravagant” responsibilities. He was a hybrid safety and linebacker, collecting 53 tackles and nine tackles for loss during his lone year with the Sooners.

The Falcons were Daniels’ first formal meeting at the NFL combine. He spoke with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, along with several other top decision-makers, and realized Oklahoma’s defense is similar to the one he’ll face with the Falcons. Daniels verbalized the Sooners’ concepts and learned a portion of the Falcons’ defense in his meeting.

Daniels ran a 4.76 40-yard dash at his pro day, but the Falcons like his range and athleticism, and Cunningham described Daniels as an Ulbrich-type player.

“Fits those measurables and what he (Ulbrich) looks for and what we look for,” Cunningham said. “You see him play all over the field. He’s a rare athlete.”

The Falcons had six linebackers on their roster entering the draft, headlined by Divine Deablo and free agent signee Christian Harris. Deablo aside, the room has plenty of question marks.

Daniels wasn’t the highest-ranked linebacker available on consensus boards, and he’s still relatively new to the position, but his blend of size, athleticism and experience gives him an intriguing ceiling for the Falcons’ coaching staff to find.

Grade: B-

What Daniels said: “I don’t want to say I play like one person and who I model my game after. I’m going to be the best Kendal Daniels that I can be.”

What Cunningham said: “When you watch the tape — the movement, the length, the fluidity — he can do a lot of things for you on defense.”

Anterio Thompson, DT, Washington

Pick: Round 6, No. 208 overall

Analysis: Anterio Thompson is the latest piece to the Falcons’ interior defensive line reshuffling. He’s big, strong and athletic, timing a 4.73 40-yard dash at 6-foot-2 and 306 pounds.

After failing to qualify academically out of high school, Thompson spent two years at Iowa Western Community College before transferring to Iowa in 2023, Western Michigan in 2024 and Washington in 2025.

Thompson played sparingly at Iowa but found more consistent playing time in his final two stops. In three seasons at the Division I level, he appeared in 33 games and made 65 tackles, four tackles for loss and 2½ sacks.

The Madison, Wisconsin, native had a predraft Zoom call with Falcons defensive line coach Nate Ollie and a FaceTime call with Ulbrich. When the Falcons called Thompson after submitting their selection, he didn’t initially believe it was real.

“I’m just speechless,” Thompson said. “I had no words. The whole phone call, I was just shaking because I didn’t believe it was real. Once they started passing the phones around and I was hearing familiar voices, I knew it was real.”

The Falcons feel Thompson has the traits to help their defensive line on both rushing and passing downs.

“He’s sawed off, powerful, explosive, really good hand strength, good instincts,” Cunningham said. “He plays the brand of ball that our defensive staff looks for. He’s powerful.”

The Athletic ranked Thompson as the No. 24 defensive tackle and No. 250 overall player in the draft. Thompson doesn’t have an overly productive background, but the Falcons believe his traits warrant the selection.

Grade: C

What Thompson said: “Football is the only sport where it’s violent and you don’t go to jail for it. So I kind of started practicing and playing with a little bit more anger, but as I got into college, that’s when my violence and everything got to this point.”

What Cunningham said: “A lot of these guys are starting to transfer more for various reasons, so feel like our scouts did a really good job of identifying him, and a lot of credit to (assistant) Cami Pasqualoni on that one. She really liked him in the process, and we were excited to be able to get him.”

Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU

Pick: Round 6, No. 215 overall

Analysis: Two years ago, Harold Perkins Jr. appeared closer to being a top 10 pick than a Day 3 selection. Then, he tore his ACL four games into the 2024 season, and his stock suffered.

But the Falcons believe Perkins, who’s confident in his surgically repaired knee and earned third-team All-SEC honors in 2025, still has the makings of a high-level player. Cunningham said the team’s scouts frequented LSU each year of Perkins’ college career, and some brought up the potential Perkins has to return to his freshman season form.

“They talked about how he jumped off the tape and what he looked like,” Cunningham said. “And thinking that we were going to be able to get him to that form with our coaching staff if we were to be able to draft him.”

The Falcons will need to find a home for Perkins, who finished his college career with 35½ tackles for loss and 17 sacks to go along with three interceptions. He can play inside linebacker and rush the passer, but at 6-foot-1 and 223 pounds, he doesn’t fit the size threshold for a traditional NFL pass rusher.

Perkins told teams during the predraft process that he’s the most versatile prospect in the draft. The Falcons, Stefanski said, are still working through where they’ll play Perkins.

“He’s obviously had the ability to play off and on the ball,” Stefanski said. “You add good players to this roster. As coaches, that’s our job to find the roles based on what they’ve done on tape and also explore some things that maybe they haven’t done.

“In particular, in this case, obviously, it’s some versatility along the front, but also excited about the special teams component of that as well.”

Perkins took a roundabout path to Atlanta. When he arrived at LSU, he planned to graduate in three years and head to the NFL. T

he knee injury redirected him and robbed him, to use his words, of a “perfect Cinderella story.” But he found solace in his faith and understood his plans aren’t “always what God has planned for me.”

Everybody wants to be the No. 1 pick, Perkins said. But he’ll let Fernando Mendoza have that title. He has bigger ambitions.

“My end goal wasn’t just to get to the league,” Perkins said. “My end goal was to have a gold (Pro Football Hall of Fame) jacket. This is just part of my story.”

Perkins ranked higher than his draft slot on most consensus boards. Perhaps the injury scared teams away, or maybe it was his size and lack of a clear position. But the latter two weren’t problematic when Perkins was a projected first-round pick, and the Falcons, at No. 215 overall, took a justifiable swing.

Grade: B+

What Perkins said: “I feel like I know it (isn’t) 200 people in this draft better than me, for one. I know that for a fact. But that’s what I use as my motivation to go get it.”

What Cunningham said: “You see what he’s able to do all over the field early in his career, playing off the edge and rushing the passer. Like you mentioned, you thought this was going to be the next one. Unfortunately, he’s battled some injuries earlier in his career, and he’s come back and we’re excited about the versatility that he brings and excited about where we got him.”

Ethan Onianwa, OT, Ohio State

Pick: Round 7, No. 231 overall

Analysis: Ethan Onianwa didn’t start a game for the Buckeyes last season after transferring from Rice, but the Falcons believe in his upside.

The 6-foot-6, 333-pound Onianwa started 34 of his 37 appearances from 2022-24 at Rice, seeing time at both left and right tackle. He kicked inside to the perimeter and played guard at Ohio State, though much of his game action came at offensive guard.

The Falcons like Onianwa’s versatility, and offensive line coach Bill Callahan, who spoke with Onianwa during the draft process, told Cunningham he believes there’s plenty of untapped potential in the Katy, Texas, native’s body.

“He’s got good feet, balance,” Cunningham said. “But I think there’s still room to grow.”

The Falcons had five offensive tackles — Jake Matthews, Jawaan Taylor, Michael Jerrell, Storm Norton and Jack Nelson — on their roster entering the draft. Onianwa, a late-round flier, will have to earn his spot on the 53-man roster this summer, but he’s excited for the opportunity to compete.

“At the end of the day, it’s really just putting in work and improving every single day,” Onianwa said. “The big thing for me is just having a growth mindset. I just want to continue to find ways to improve and reach my full potential.”

Grade: C-

What Onianwa said: “Physicality is the biggest thing, and always being fundamentally sound. Those are the two biggest things I want to consistently show on the field.”

What Cunningham said: “Big, strong, powerful. I think this is a guy that has upside.”

The bottom line

Cunningham and Stefanski inherited an unfavorable drafting hand, with no first-round pick and only five total selections. They finished with six new players — two on offense, four on defense — and the belief they legitimately improved their odds of contending in the fall.

There are questions attached to each pick, be it their chances of starting right away, their role and position or their path to making the roster. Terrell and Branch have an opportunity to play early, and Daniels should, if nothing else, make an impact on special teams. Whether the team’s final three picks — Perkins, especially, is intriguing — see the field is unknown.

But all told, the Falcons largely made the most of their scenario and finished with a solid haul.

Grade: B