The Atlanta Falcons won't have a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which will make Ian Cunningham's first draft as GM a bit of a snooze. Their first-round pick is in the hands of the Los Angeles Rams due to the draft day trade that saw Terry Fontenot move up for James Pearce Jr., which has since aged poorly due to his arrest last weekend.
Regardless, the No. 13 pick in 2026 is now held by Los Angeles. There have been some rumblings that Fontenot basically handed them an opportunity to select an impact defensive player, but their draft plan may have just been flipped on its head by the surprise retirement of a key offensive starter.
After 11 seasons, right tackle Rob Havenstein announced his retirement on Instagram earlier this week, which means that the Rams are in the market for help on the offensive line. Thankfully, they just lucked out with the timing of the Pearce trade, because this draft has an incredibly strong OT class.
Rob Havenstein's retirement is forcing the Rams to look at Spencer Fano with the Falcons' first-round pick
It's a bummer, because the Falcons have some big needs on defense they could fill with this pick, but instead, the rich will get richer. The star tackles, Francis Mauigoa and Spencer Fano most likely won't be available when the Rams are on the clock, but Les Snead is known to make things work regardless.
There's an outside Fano may fall into their laps, but even if he doesn't, Alabama's Kadyn Proctor, and Fano's Utah teammate Caleb Lomu will be considered. The problem is that both Proctor and Lomu only played left tackle in college, meaning that Fano is the top true right tackle in the 2026 NFL Draft.
If Fano falls into their lap, Falcons fans will be as defeated as ever, while Rams fans will be victory lapping their across SoFi Stadium. They already have one of the league's best left tackles in Alairic Jackson, so complementing him with a prospect as pro-ready as the 22-year-old is a scary sight.
The Rams already boast one of the best rosters in the NFL and came one game away from the Super Bowl, yet the Dirty Birds gifted them with an easy opportunity to fill one of the biggest holes on their roster after Havenstein's retirement, which is thanks to Fontenot, who is the gift that keeps on giving.
It's hard to put into words how incompetent Fontenot was, but if anything were to do it, this is it. Because of it, the Rams can draft Fano (or try moving another tackle prospect to the right side) to shore up their OL and ensure that reigning MVP Matthew Stafford remains protected after turning 38.
As far as things go in Atlanta, OL isn't a major need, but this pick could have been used to address wide receiver or the woeful run defense instead of putting a contender over the top.