From a draft capital perspective, the Atlanta Falcons aren't going to be key players during the 2026 NFL Draft, but if you know anything about Ian Cunningham, he's willing to get wheeling and dealing to keep Atlanta active, which is why the Falcons making a couple of trades is more likely than we expect.
The only deal-breaker for the Falcons in trade negotiations will be parting with any premium draft capital, since the goal should be adding draft capital, not parting with even more when they only have five picks in the arsenal. But that didn't stop Fox Sports' Ralph Vacchiano from dropping a wild take.
While pinpointing a player that every NFC team should trade for during the 2026 NFL Draft, Vacchiano's take on the Falcons will turn some serious heads. He pitched them as a destination for former Browns' receiver Jerry Jeudy, but his proposed trade package made a bad idea even worse.
Trading for Jeudy is fine on it's own, but Vacchiano had the Dirty Birds trading their second-round pick in a trade for him. So let me get this straight, a team who does not have a first-round pick would trade the 48th overall pick (their first selection in the draft mind you) for an average wideout is total blasphemy.
The Atlanta Falcons' trade rumors around Jerry Jeudy are total BS
On paper, trading for the 26-year-old makes sense.. He spent the last two seasons playing for Kevin Stefanski and won the Biletnikoff Award in college while catching passes from Tua Tagovailoa. However, when you look at this idea with any sense of functionality, the rationale would just vanish.
If you know anything about Cunningham, there's no world this happens. Not only is Jeudy not worth a second-rounder, but he's preached adding draft picks all offseason long. There's no way he would turn around and part with Atlanta's most valuable 2026 draft pick to swing a trade for a player.
If the Falcons did this, their first pick in the draft would come at pick 79, which does not fly. We know that Stefanski loves the players he coached in Cleveland, so instead of picking up an average veteran, you swing for the fences by drafting someone in an elite WR class to add depth at the position..
The main reason this trade isn't feasible are the finances. The Falcons wouldn't owe Jeudy much money besides a $15 million bonus in 2027, but the Browns would be forced to eat $11 million in dead cap if they trade him, so given their lack of receiver depth, they have no incentive to trade him.
Frankly, I doubt he ever goes for a third-round pick at this point. He was good in 2024, but most of that was across a three-game span. 2025 was more indictative of Jeudy's true self, so the most I would give up is a fourth-round pick, and even that's rich. A late Day 3 pick is more what he's worth.
I wouldn't be surprised if the 48th overall pick is eventually dealt so Atlanta can recoup some draft capital, but not like this. Player swaps don't help this team build for the future, especially this one for Jeudy, but this doesn't mean that Cunningham won't make this pick available so they can trade down.
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