We are officially one week out from the 2026 NFL Draft, which means that all the questions we spent all offseason trying to answer are mere days away from being answered. The anticipation across the NFL are at a high, and it's pretty hard to determine what speculation is real and what's a smokescreen.
With that in mind, I decided to put on my NFL Draft hat once more and make my second-to-last Falcons' mock draft of the offseason (with my final seven-rounder set to be released on the morning of the draft). I'm fully prepared to be wrong, but for my ego's sake, I'm hoping to get just one pick right.
The difference between this mock and my previous one is that this one has trades, which will certainly add another layer of intrigue to this scenario. So without further ago, let's kick this one off.
Assessing what a seven-round mock draft would look like for the Atlanta Falcons a week before the draft
Round 2 | Pick 48: Chris Johnson - CB, San Diego State
Without a first-round pick, the Dirty Birds' philosophy at 48 is all about value, and that's precisely what Chris Johnson is. With Lee Hunter, Christen Miller, and Caleb Banks off the board, Atlanta is better suited to wait on a DT and go with the best player available, which Johnson does while filling a need.
The Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year possesses the versatility to thrive in man or zone-based defense, and put his athleticism on display at the combine. A 38-inch vertical and 4.40 second 40-yard dash is the exact sort of athleticism Jeff Ulbrich covets in a CB2 opposite A.J. Terrell.
The 21-year-old has even been floated as a surprise first-round pick, so if the Falcons can draft him in the middle of Round 2, fans should be jumping for joy.
Everybody, we have a trade to announce. The Atlanta Falcons have traded the 79th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for the 85th and 135th picks
Round 3 | Pick 85: Ted Hurst - WR, Georgia State
After sending the 79th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cunningham makes his first draft-day trade as the GM of the Falcons. In this move, Atlanta moves back six picks and picks up an extra fourth-round pick, all while drafting the man I probably would've drafted at 79 anyways in Ted Hurst.
It's clear to see this new regime values adding receiver depth, and Hurst would either start or compete for a starting job from the jump. His only competition to be Atlanta's WR2 is Jahan Dotson, and for a near 6-foot-4, 206-pound big-play threat with a 9.90 RAS, beating him out should be easy.
The 21-year-old has a 60.4% contested catch rate and is a rapid riser throughout the pre-draft process, and has even been floated as a player who could find his way into Round 2. So for a Falcons' offense in dire need of an elite vertical threat at WR, Hurst is the highest-upside option available.
Round 4 | Pick 122: Trey Zuhn III - OT, Texas A&M
Now that Kaleb McGary has retired, offensive tackle is skyrocketing up the list of needs on draft day. Frankly, you could loop the entire offensive line in there, but with an aging Jake Matthews and Jawaan Taylor as your two starting tackles, it's pretty clear a more long-term option at tackle is badly needed.
Enter Trey Zuhn III. Not only is the 23-year-old one massive human at 6-foot-6 1/2 and 312 pounds, he comes with four years of starting experience at Texas A&M. Zuhn is one of the most interesting OL prospects in the draft due to his athletic profile, as his 9.96 RAS ranks eighth at OT since 1987.
But beyond traits, Zuhn excels as a pass protector, so as a high-upside swing at tackle, Zuhn deserves a shot to be the long-term successor to McGary or Matthews over someone like Jack Nelson or Storm Norton assuming the Taylor deal is a failure.
Round 4 | Pick 135: Tim Keenan III - DT, Alabama
And at last, we draft a defensive tackle. Tim Keenan III is one of my favorite Day 3 DT prospects, espcially in a scenario like this. At 6-foot-2 and 325 pounds, he is exactly what most NFL teams are looking for in a nose tackle, especially because he's a stout run defender, which the Falcons needs.
He tested pretty poorly, and his athletic profile is not great, hence the drop to Day 3. He also has short arms and doesn't offer much as a pass-rusher, but given the talent he'll be surrounded by with on Atlanta's defensive line, all he'd need to do is stabilize the run defense to make a Day 1 impact.
Round 6 | Pick 215: Harold Perkins Jr.- LB, LSU
Following his sophomore season at LSU, Harold Perkins Jr. was being mocked as high as the top five. Across his first two college seasons, he combined for 26 tackles for loss and 13 sacks and looked like a future NFL star, but after tearing his ACL in 2024, his production took a turn for the worst.
The long-term outlook of Atlanta's pass-rush room is up in the air because of the James Pearce Jr, situation, and Azeez Ojulari and Samson Ebukam aren't long term-fixes. So to land a player with the upside of Perkins to replace either Pearce or Kaden Elliss in the sixth round, that's always worth it.
Round 7 | Pick 231: Jalen Huskey - S, Maryland
Beyond Xavier Watts, the Falcons have a lot of long-term question marks at safety. Even though Jessie Bates III wants to return, both he and Sydney Brown are set to be free agents after the 2026 season, so whether you like it or not, Atlanta needs extra insurance at the position with their last pick.
Huskey is a ball hawk who can easily replace Bates as Watts' new running mate if he doesn't return in 2027. Huskey is a good tackler who possesses the versatility to play in the backfield or in the nickel (which Brown has too), so giving Ulbrich a high-upside chess piece with their final pick is the play.
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