The Atlanta Falcons have had a fantastic showing in the 2026 NFL Draft thus far, but the big surprise is that they had not drafted a defensive tackle with any of their premium picks. Luckily, the Falcons finally addressed defensive tackle with the extra sixth-round pick they picked up from the Raiders.
Using the 208th pick from their fourth-round trade-back, the Falcons selected Washington defensive tackle Anterio Thompson with their fourth of six selections. All Thompson really is at this point is a high-upside developmental pick for a Falcons' defense searching for upside along the defensive line.
Thompson was a Juco transfer who had stops at Iowa and Western Michigan before spending 2025 with the Huskies, where he logged career-highs with 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. Those numbers dont jump off the page, but if you watch this guy play, you know he has some serious upside in Round 6.
Despite his athleticism, new Falcons' DT Anterio Thompson is very short
Thompson clearly has the physical tools and the athleticism worth gambling on for the Dirty Birds, but there are some conflicting opinions on his size. Some have him measured in at 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, but his official measurement at Washington's Pro Day was at 6-foot-1 7/8-- a big difference.
That's pretty undersized for an NFL defensive tackle. For reference, recently-acquired Falcons' DT Maason Smith is 6-foot-5 and 306 pounds, but he's a nose tackle. I understand that's a different ballpark, but it'll be tough to carve out a role in Atlanta's DT logjam when the new regime wants to get bigger.
It's interesting to see him be the pick over free-falling defensive tackles like Zxavian Harris, Dontay Corleone, and Tim Keenan III, but if Jeff Ulbrich and Nate Ollie see something in this kid, I'm on board. I trust their judgement and belief that they can get some quality rotational football out of this kid.
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