The Atlanta Falcons' opening of free agency was telling about the direction they are planning to go under this new regime. But perhaps more revealing than what Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski did do is what they failed to do, which could in turn affect the Falcons' strategy in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The two core positions Atlanta has neglected in free agency thus far are cornerback and defensive tackle, but the cornerback room is especially notable, The Dirty Birds badly need to find a star cornerback to play off of A.J. Terrell, and it's puzzling to see them add no experience to the CB room.
Even if they do address cornerback in the 2026 NFL Draft, is it a guarantee that said young corner will be a starter from Day 1? Jeff Ulbrich clearly still believes in Mike Hughes, so right now, I would venture to say that the runaway favorite for the CB2 position is Hughes... at least until proven otherwise.
The Atlanta Falcons are planning to stick with Mike Hughes opposite A.J. Terrell
After a strong season in 2024 which earned him a three-year extension, the former first-round pick had a down year in 2025. Hughes was picked apart by defense after defense and missed the final three games of the season due to injury. Yet when he went down, his replacements were even worse.
Dee Alford, the only respectable reinforcement, is now a Buffalo Bill, while C.J. Henderson and Cobee Bryant have no business seeing an NFL field in the year of our lord 2026. And when Billy Bowman Jr. is healthy, he should be in the nickel, so the UCF product shold be play on the boundary by default.
I understand that the bar is below underground, but that's no excuse: this cornerback room is looking real brutal. Trading for an established veteran isn't an option given Atlanta's lack of 2026 draft capital-- and you already know Cunningham won't part with more when the DB room needs to get younger.
The 29-year-old is far from the worst option in the world, but if the Falcons had their first-round pick in 2026, that's a position they probably would have looked at. This is not to say they won't still go CB at pick 48 to add some competition to the room, but this roster has a surplus of holes to consider.
After ranking top 30 in PFF coverage grade in 2024, Hughes slid all the way down to 67th in 2025. That's a major drop-off, and yes, I understand the difficulties of being a cornerback adjusting to a new system, but this new regime is giving too long of a leash to a player who doesn't deserve it.