Falcons rookie Kendal Daniels just received his most important endorsement yet

When Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels, he had nothing but good things to say.

Stefanski said that the fourth-round pick has been "excellent" running the defense with the green dot in place of the injured Divine Deablo this preseason. Stefanski said Daniels is a student of the game and they knew that when they drafted him in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Kevin Stefanski knows the Falcons got a steal in rookie LB Kendal Daniels

General Manager Ian Cunningham tactically maneuvered the board, moving down from pick 122 to 134, adding a sixth-round pick, and still secured his target in Daniels. Make no mistake about it either, president of football Matt Ryan sure could hardly contain his excitement about it. That extra pick added Washington DT Anterio Thompson, but they drafted Harold Perkins Jr. seven spots later.

Having mentioned Deablo, who better to supplement defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s attack-style defense than a similar mold in Daniels?. Ulbrich has a taste affinity for overly athletic speed backers. Having said that, Deablo is as good of a hit as he has had there, and he wanted to replicate that.

Deablo transitioned from wide receiver to safety at Virginia Tech, and then from safety to linebacker in the NFL during his time with the Las Vegas Raiders. The top-ranked prep player in Oklahoma, Daniels played safety at Oklahoma State his first three years before transferring to the in-state rival as a senior to switch positions.

When you dive even deeper into the positional transition and comparable aspects of Oklahoma coach Brent Venables’s defense to what is run in Atlanta, Venables’s sales pitch and vision in Daniels’s transfer was fantastic. Coined by Venables, the “Cheetah” position in his defense is built on consolidating expectations of linebacker, nickelback, and safety.

Aside from his obvious talent, wonder now why the Falcons defense fell apart when Divine Deablo was absent last season? His role was that big and that much of a chain reaction to his supporting cast. The speed, physicality, and versatile athleticism and instincts needed to cover that much space requires a specific vision.

The kind of vision to go from worst to second in the NFL in team sacks…the kind of vision Kevin Stefanski trusts in retaining Ulbrich from the Raheem Morris regime…the Falcons are going to need to “replace” the losses of Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. during their absence. Falcons LB Divine Deablo discussed what DC Jeff Ulbrich's return to practice meant to him.

As Deablo put it, “Man, I love Brich. He's like a father figure, an older brother for me. So, I was glad to have him back out here. I hugged him as soon as I seen him. Everybody just wants to play for Brich at the end of the day. He really believes in Heart, Mind, Fist, and that's what the defense is all about. So, we're just out there to play for him.”

It's as simple as this: Offensive points allowed rankings for the Falcon defense:
With Divine Deablo - 7th; Without Divine Deablo - 26th
Kendal Daniels to have the trust of the coaching staff this early and producing this well in charge…best insurance policy and future asset of late for the Falcons’s portfolio.

With Divine Deablo injured, Kevin Stefanski realized the Atlanta Falcons found something special in Kendal Daniels, and soon, the rest of the NFL will see too.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow