Of the six players the Atlanta Falcons selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, the one player we haven't seen much of this offseason is sixth-round defensive tackle Anterio Thompson. Thompson was sidelined during rookie minicamp and OTAs, and unlike Kendal Daniels, a return is not coming anytime soon.
Just days before training camp, ESPN's Marc Raimondi reported that the Falcons placed Thompson on the non-football injury (NFI) list and while remaining on the active list, he would continue to be sidelined, which means that he'll miss more quality reps to help him adjust to the speed of the NFL.
Atlanta selected Thompson with the 198th pick in the 2026 Draft, and while he's raw, he has a lot of athletic upside if given more development. And unfortunately, Nate Ollie and Jeff Ulbrich won't be able to tap into that for a bit--but his absence gives them a chance to work with another rookie DT.
Carlos Allen Jr. will be a name to watch during Falcons training camp
Drafting Thompson didn't deter the Falcons from turning to the undrafted free agent market to add more help at a position of need. Immediately after the draft ended, they signed Houston defensive tackle Carlos Allen Jr., and unlike Thompson, has more proven college production for them to go off of.
In 2025, Allen Jr. logged an impressive 80 tackles, which is a pretty major number for an interior lineman. So it shouldn't be much of a surprise to hear that only did he lead the Cougars in tackles this past season, he also led all FBS interior defensive linemen--which is rare to find on the UDFA market.
Moreover, the 24-year-old was one of four Big 12 linemen to play over 600 snaps without committing a penalty last season, which helped him earn Second Team All-Big honors last season. And his 34 stops led all Big 12 interior linemen and was second among all defensive linemen in total.
So with Anterio Thompson sidelined, it's easy to see a scenario where Allen benefits. Not only do the Dirty Birds have a big need for additional contributors on the interior of their defensive line, it will give Ollie and Ulbrich to see what they have in him--especially since he didn't set the world on fire in OTAs.
At 6-foot-1 and 295 pounds, Allen is a bit undersized to be an every-down contributor at DT, but it's not insane to suggest he becomes a solid rotational presence. Right now, the Falcons' DT rotation comes down to Brandon Dorlus, Zach Harrison, Maason Smith, LaCale London, and Da'Shawn Hand, but behind them it's pretty wide open.
In all likelihood, he will compete with Ross Blacklock and Chris Williams for a roster spot. But with Anterio Thompson spending more time recovering from injury, don't be surprised if Carlos Allen Jr. uses his track record to his advantage and becomes a breakout star once training camp kicks off.
Add us as a preferred source on Google