The Atlanta Falcons have been on a quest to add draft capital all offseason long, but it's proving easier said than done for Ian Cunningham. The Falcons have just five selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, so as long as he's the one calling the shots, Atlanta won't be this inactive in the draft ever again.
Ever since his opening presser, Cunningham has reiterated that the Falcons will never again have this little draft capital, and has revealed that they're still exploring ways to add to that number. But that has an inevitable reality settling in, as the only viable way to do that is to part with their 48th overall pick.
Cunningham sat down with Falcons' reporter Will McFadden to discuss everything surrounding his draft approach, which included the elephant in the room about the lack of draft capital. And during that interview, he revealed that the Dirty Birds are already looking at ways to make that number jump.
"“For us, it’s one of those things where we have to go into this thinking we only have five picks. That’s worst case,” Cunningham said. “If we come out of it with just five picks, we come out of it with just five picks. We are already looking at different ways to potentially manufacture some more. But if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”"Ian Cunningham
Those words sound a lot like Atlanta is looking to trade down from either pick 48 or 79 on Friday night to pick up some extra picks. The only question that remains is if other teams will be interested in swinging a deal, because the rest of the NFL will truly dictate how his first draft as a GM plays out.
The Atlanta Falcons might be preparing to trade down early in the 2026 NFL Draft
With no first-round pick, Cunningham is entering his first draft in Atlanta with the deck stacked against him, but Terry Fontenot proved last year you can build an elite draft class with limited selections--although he made two-round picks and is the reason Cunningham is in a rough spot.
The 40-year-old again revealed that because of his time working under Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore, he's "a firm believer in best player available" rather than being a needs-based drafter. And we've seen how that approach has worked out not only for the Ravens, but for Howie Roseman in Philadelphia.
Before his time in Chicago, Cunningham has been a close mentor in two successful front offices with both Newsome and Roseman. Not only does he have a frame of reference for what a winning organization looks like, the draft model he'll use resulted in Super Bowls for the Ravens and Eagles.
Even his most recent boss, Ryan Poles, was one to trade down and accumulate more draft capital on a frequent basis, so Cunningham has a major frame of reference of how to run things in Atlanta. Unless there's a prospect you're in love with available, always be open to moving down the board.
If the Falcons can move down a few spots from their second round pick and pick up an extra third or fourth-rounder, you have to jump at that opportunity, especially with how comparable most of the second-round tier of players truly is. Like baseball, the draft is all about giving yourselves as many swings at the plate as possible, as that makes the chances of a home run that much higher.
Cunningham seems to be the right man in charge of leading the Falcons back to the playoffs, so hopefully he puts that knowledge to good use and gets some wheeling and dealing in before putting his scouting background to good use in his first draft as a GM.