The Atlanta Falcons may have been quiet on Thursday night of the 2026 NFL Draft, but boy did they make a loud impression on Friday night. They may have made just two selections in the opening 100 picks, but it's better to capitalize on fewer draft picks than having more capital and putting it to waste.
And the Falcons did not waste either of their two picks on Day 2. In the second round, they nabbed a steal in Clemson cornerback (and A.J. Terrell's younger brother) Avieon Terrell with the 48th overall pick, and drafted speedy Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch with their third-rounder at pick 79.
Atlanta was able to select both players at a major discount relative to their draft projection, which has filled two of their biggest neds on the roster in the process. But last night was not all sunshine and rainbow for the Dirty Birds, as it's customary in the NFL Draft that not everything will go a team's way.
There are always two sides of every coin, so here are the winners and losers of the Falcons' introduction to the 2026 NFL Draft.
Winner: Kevin Stefanski, Ian Cunningham, and Matt Ryan
Growing up, I was always told that first impressions are everything, and this Falcons' new regime could not have made a better first impression with the fanbase. If you weren't told, you wouldn't have even known that Ian Cunningham was a first-time GM, or Matt Ryan has no NFL executive experience.
Speaking of firsts, they had no first-round pick, yet still came away with two of the biggest storylines of the night in Rounds 2 and 3. Atlanta's war room was able to draft two players near the top of their draft board at two position of needs at a major discount, which more than compensated for no first.
This Falcons' new regime worked cohesively to come out of Friday with the best possible result for a scenario in which they wre unable to trade down and acquire more draft capital.
Winner: The Terrell Family
There's nothing more important than family, and the Falcons proved that with their first selection. They managed to pair Avieon and A.J. Terrell to be Atlanta's long-term cornerback duo of the future, and this wasn't a nepo pick. Avieon was a first-round talent who somehow fell to the middle of Day 2.
With a six-year age gap between A.J. and Avieon, odds are they've never played together before, so not only should thy be really amped about this opportunity, their whole family should be happy that the Clemson-to-Atlanta pipeline is continuing. And watching their games will be awfully convenient.
Winner: Drake London
It sounds weird to say, but by the Atlanta Falcons drafting a wide receiver in the third round was the best thing they could've done for Drake London. The receiver room was feeble beyond belief last season, and this new regime is clearly trying to remedy the issues that plagued the Morris Falcons.
Zachariah Branch is the perfect wideout for what this offense needs. His speed will help open up the offense for London and Jahan Dotson, and with his explosiveness out of the slot, defenses won't be able to key in on him as much, so in a contract year, Branch can help the USC product earn a payday.
Winner: Jeff Ulbrich
The Falcons landed an absolute steal landing Terrell at pick 48, and nobody (besides anyone in the aforementioned Terrell family) should be more hyped than Jeff Ulbrich over this family reunion. This defense needs long-term secondary help, and the A. Terrell squared cornerback duo is an elite fix.
Ulbrich tends to gravitate towards defensive prospects with athleticism and versatility, and the Younger Terrell fits the bill. He can play in the inside and out, and from a play-style perspective, he's a little bit smaller than his brother, but is essentially a clone of his brother otherwise.
And replicating your CB1 with his blood relative is the best way for a defense to remain elite for years to come.
Winner: Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa
I spoke a little bit on the impact Branch will have on the Falcons' receiver room, but his biggest impact will likely be on Atlanta's quarterback play. Where the 22-year-old thrives is in the open field, or taking a short dump-up into a major gain, which this offense had basically none of behind London last year.
Branch is lightning in a bottle. He's a reception machine and fantastic after the catch, so his selection will allow Stefanski to creatively scheme up ways to get him the football, which means he'll likely be a security blanket that Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa can take advantage of out of the slot.
Loser: Mike Hughes
The Terrell pick means Avieon is likely the future for Atlanta at CB2, which is a long-overdue addition to the secondary. Mike Hughes was about as effective as a traffic cone in coverage, and missed the last three games of the season due to an ankle injury--yet the secondary was worse without him.
Even if the second-round rookie takes his spot as the starting boundary corner, Hughes could get a look in the nickel, but he would still have to fight with Billy Bowman Jr. and Sydney Brown for playing time.
Loser: Baker Mayfield:
With the way Stefanski lives in this guy's head rent free, Falcons fans always see Baker Mayfield as a loser, but Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft was the tip of the iceberg. With the 79th pick, Atlanta passed on Ted Hurst in favor of Branch, yet Mayfield's Bucs had no issues drafting him five spots later.
Hurst is objectively a good football player, but I don't think Baker's ego can handle seeing a guy Stefanski passed on as his supposed Mike Evans replacement. He better start crying for engagement on Twitter again.
Loser: Bijan Robinson:
It's hard to find any scenario in which Bijan Robinson will ever find himself in the losers column of an article, but if there's any time that this applies, it's this one. The Falcons failed to address the offensive line in the draft despite dealing with more red flags up front than they've had in some time.
Not only did Atlanta fail to address the offensive line, two of their NFC South rivals added elite run-stuffing nose tackles in Day 2. The Carolina Panthers drafted Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter at pick 49, while the New Orleans Saints sniped Georgia's Christen Miller away from the Falcons at pick 42.
He'll still have another fantastic season, but these defenses are starting to key in on him in his pursuit of a new extension.
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