Despite being drafted in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Atlanta Falcons rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels has quickly become an important piece of Jeff Ulbrich's defense. He's started since Day 1 and has shown flashes of becoming a long-term cornerstone for this unit--and may even make Atlanta feel comfortable losing Divine Deablo in free agency.
And now he is earning recognition around the league as Sports Illustrated's Justin Melo named Daniels among the 10 biggest Day 3 steals of this most recent draft.
"The Atlanta Falcons have two Day 3 rookie linebackers capable of making this list," Melo wrote. "Both Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. are contributing to a defense that is being well coached by Jeff Ulbrich. Daniels has 29 total tackles and he ranks second on the defense in TFLs with 4.5. The former Oklahoma standout also has a sack and a pass breakup."
For a Falcons team sitting at 2-4 and still searching for answers on both sides of the ball, Daniels has been one of the more encouraging developments of the young season.
Kendal Daniels is making the Falcons' decision to draft him look smarter
Sure six games is a relatively small sample size, and Kendal Daniels still has plenty of room to develop. But considering the Falcons drafted him with pick 134, getting this kind of production so early is a pretty impressive return.
And for first-year general manager Ian Cunningham, who traded down before selecting Daniels, the pick is already looking like one of his better decisions.
However, things almost took a terrible turn when the rookie linebacker suffered a neck injury while tackling Bears tight end Colston Loveland in the third quarter, forcing medical personnel to immobilize him and take him off the field on a stretcher.
Fortunately, the initial reports were positive. Daniels returned to the Falcons' locker room after undergoing evaluation at Grady Memorial Hospital, and head coach Kevin Stefanski provided an encouraging update the following day.
"All positive news on Kendal Daniels," Stefanski said Monday. "He's here, back in the building today. He got back from the hospital to the locker room last evening after the game, which I think you guys may have saw. Feel very very fortunate that he got the treatment he got, but also that we feel really good about where he is."
Things got even better for Kendal Daniels as the week progressed
According to the team's official injury report, Kendal Daniels was a full participant in practice on October 21, just three days after being stretchered off against Chicago. Stefanski also confirmed that Daniels was not in the NFL's concussion protocol.
That's an encouraging development for Atlanta, especially considering the team's growing injury concerns on defense. And he also participated in full on Friday.
Deablo and second-year cornerback Billy Bownan were among the players initially ruled out for Week 7 against the 49ers while A.J. Terrell and C.J. Henderson have also dealt with injuries.
Of course, practicing doesn't guarantee the 23-year-old will suit up Sunday. Atlanta still has to evaluate his progress throughout the week. But considering how serious the injury initially appeared, the fact that Daniels is already back on the practice field is encouraging enough.
The Falcons have plenty of problems to address after their disappointing 2-4 start, but the young linebacker certainly hasn't been one of them.
And if Kendal Daniels continues producing at this level, Atlanta's decision to trade down and take a chance on the former Oklahoma standout could end up looking even better by the end of the season.
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