As we get progressively closer to the start of the 2026 NFL Draft, the vision for what the Atlanta Falcons want to do is becoming clearer and clearer. The Falcons only have five picks in Ian Cunningham's opening draft as the general manager, but there's no guarantee that it stays that way.
There has been a lot of talk about Atlanta considering trading down in the hopes of more draft capital in the NFL Draft, which ESPN NFL Nation confirmed in their new rumor mill article. But at this point, that's pretty common knowledge that Cunningham himself has admitted since his opening presser.
However, should the Falcons stick and pick, their opening selection will be at pick 48. ESPN's Jordan Reid reported that the two positions that keep coming up here are defensive tackle and wide receiver, and apparently, the Dirty Birds have a lot of buzz surrounding North Dakota State WR Bryce Lance.
""Even after adding Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus this offseason, the Falcons want a field stretcher at some point on Day 2. Bryce Lance (North Dakota State) was a name that kept coming up""Jordan Reid
Reid mentioned that Lance is a name that keeps coming up with the Falcons on Day 2, yet a few weeks ago was looked at as a consensus Day 3 prospect. Just like Georgia State's Ted Hurst, he keeps flying up the draft boards, and it would now be a shock to see him drop out of the third round.
Bryce Lance is a dark horse receiver to end up with the Atlanta Falcons
Lance, the younger brother of former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance, is one of the most underrated receivers in this draft after lighting up the FCS after following in his brother's footsteps. Ironically enough, the Falcons narrowly missed out on the older Lance in the 2021 Draft, as he went one pick before to the San Francisco 49ers, while they settled for Kyle Pitts, if you want to call it that, at 4.
While the 23-year-old has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in back-to-back seasons, the jump from facing FCS cornerbacks to NFL corners is a big one. However, for an offense that needs additional vertical juice behind Drake London, betting on the upside of someone like Lance makes short-term deals with Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheus make more sense.
At 6-foot-3 and 2024 pounds, Lance boasts good size for an NFL receiver, but displaying his athleticism at the combine put teams on notice. Not only did he run a 4.34 second 40-yard dash, his 41.5" vertical jump and 11'1" broad jump led to him to turn an elite 9.98 RAS (Relative Athletic Score), which ranked seventh out of 3,844 receivers since 1987.
Bryce Lance is a WR prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.98 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 7 out of 3844 WR from 1987 to 2026.
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) March 1, 2026
Pending bench and agilities, splits projected.https://t.co/qQaWvYQuav pic.twitter.com/JCojUogZfS
The major hole in Lance's game is that he isn't much of a route technician yet, so even though he has the speed and field-stretching qualities the Falcons covet, he doesn't have much else to offer. But at the very least, at least he can be a big-play threat to start who eventually carves out a starting role.
It's no secret that Atlanta is looking for receiver help, and they'll probably come away with a speedy WR at some point before the 2026 NFL Draft ends. So even though Lance doesn't have the same name value as a Zachariah Branch, nobody should complain if he's one of their Day 2 selections.