Amid what was a chaotic opening wave of free agency, the Atlanta Falcons somehow failed to address arguably their biggest need: the secondary. The only signing the Falcons have made at cornerback is a depth piece in Darnay Holmes, and that won't be enough to bolster the pass defense.
Thankfully, there are still a few established veteran corners that Ian Cunningham could look to make a run at. It would be pretty hilarious to see Marshon Lattimore donning a Falcons' uniform after spending most of his career in New Orleans, and L'Jarius Sneed is for sure headed back to Kansas City, so one other player makes more sense: Trevon Diggs.
I know what you're probably thinking right now, but the Dirty Birds wouldn't have opened up all of this cap space if they didn't have a plan to put it to use. That could come from an extension, but I think signing Diggs at good value would quietly be Atlanta's most impactful signing besides Tua Tagovailoa.
There is no world in which Diggs wouldn't be an upgrade over Mike Hughes at CB2, and he would be the perfect complement for his fellow 2020 draftee A.J. Terrell. There also wouldn't be much risk involved in signing a two-time Pro Bowler who we know has played at a super high level in years past.
The Atlanta Falcons should seriously consider signing Trevon Diggs in Wave 2 of free agency
The 2020 second-round pick doesn't turn 28 until September, and it isn't often a team is able to sign a 27-year-old star cornerback at a discount at this stage of free agency. Spotrac projects his market value to be around $7.5 million per year, which is the same AAV the Falcons are paying Jahan Dotson.
That is a major bargain for this sort of upside. We know that Atlanta has been interested in pursuing reclamation projects with former high-draft picks, one with Diggs could make sense. Unfortunately, he hasn't played a full 17 games since 2022 and has only played in double-digit games once since.
He missed the majority of 2025 due to lingering concussion symptoms, which resulted in the Dallas Cowboys releasing him and Diggs landing with the Green Bay Packers. He didn't last long there either, which is in large part due to his inability to stay healthy. Yet they signed Tua, who has his own medical issues to deal with.
Per PFF, the Alabama product has been bad in each of the last two seasons, but was great in limited action in 2023. Maybe Ulbrich can help him return to his old form if healthy, and on a cheap prove-it deal, there's no reason for Cunningham not to entertain signing a guy who was elite not too long ago.