In Ian Cunningham's first offseason as the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, a couple of trends have started to pop up.
First there's the reclamation project strategy of signing free agents at a value (which was done to maximize ROI from the cap space), the inability to trade make a trade without a pick swap, but the most telling development has been the number of "Cunningham guys" the Falcons have brought in.
And I'm not referring to players he briefly overlapped with in Baltimore or Philadelphia, but guys he actively helped bring in during his time as the assistant GM of the Chicago Bears--with the most telling examples coming from those he was in the war room to help draft across the last four years.
It first came up when the Falcons acquired DT Gervon Dexter Sr. away from Chicago, but not even 10 days later it's already resurfacing--and it's coming in the form of another young defensive tackle, as Atlanta signed another former Cunningham draft pick in DT Zacch Pickens to the practice squad after hosting him for a visit on Tuesday and released Carlos Allen Jr. in a corresponding move.
The Falcons have signed DL Zacch Pickens to the practice squad. They have released DL Carlos Allen Jr. in a corresponding move.
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) September 9, 2026
The Atlanta Falcons hosted DT Zacch Pickens on a visit on Tuesday
Pickens was a third-round pick of the Bears back in 2023, getting selected with the 64th overall pick--11 spots before the Falcons drafted Zach Harrison. He spent the first two seasons of his career with Chicago before getting released during final roster cuts last summer to kick off the 2025 season.
The 26-year-old spent the 2025 season with Kansas City (mostly on the practice squad) and the summer with the New York Giants, where he was once again released during final cuts. And now Cunningham could look to give him another opportunity on Atlanta's active roster or P-Squad.
Stylistically, this makes sense for the Dirty Birds and the new vision. At 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, Pickens is what Dave Gettleman would refer to as a "hog molly". Even Cunningham made it clear the Dirty Birds are looking for "big, powerful rugged, violent, explosive" players on the defensive line.
And frankly, stashing him on the practice squad will be worth it. While the NFL production hasn't been there, you look at his tape from South Carolina and the upside becomes clearer. He's just a space eater for a while, and allowing DL coach Nate Ollie to work his magic on him would be scary.
Ian Cunningham has been helping former Bears draft picks foster new NFL homes, and it's starting to sound like Zacch Pickens could be next in line to turn his career around in Atlanta.
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