It was only a matter of time before the Atlanta Falcons traded down for the first time in the 2026 NFL Draft, and Ian Cunningham finally did the inevitable midway through Round 4. After making elite picks at 48 and 79, Atlanta jumped at the opportunity to move down from pick 122 and add draft capital.
The Falcons are reportedly trading down with the Las Vegas Raiders, who will receive the 122nd overall pick in exchange for picks 134 and 208. It's not much, but it's still another draft pick in the arsenal for Cunningham and this new regime in Atlanta, who desperately needed to add more picks.
The 208th pick is near the end of the sixth round, and means that the Dirty Birds will have all three of their final selections outside of the top 200. They also have pick 215 and a seventh-round pick at pick 231, so Cunningham is piling up draft assets in order to provide the Falcons extra draft flexibility.
The Atlanta Falcons are trading down from the 122nd pick with the Raiders
With the 122nd pick, the Raiders selected Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. Washington is a big back who ran a 4.33 second 40-yard dash at the combine, and after drawing interest from Atlanta throughout the pre-draft process, will be headed to Sin City to join forces with Ashton Jeanty.
Cunningham has spoke plenty about the idea of trading down this offseason. He mentioned it during his introductory presser and consistently throughout the pre-draft process, so they were never sticking with making just five selections. It's always been about making as many picks as possible for the new GM.
Even though it took this new regime until Day 3 to find a trade-down they liked from a value standpoint, they still got a deal done, which is better late than never. And hopefully it's the first of many good pick trades he makes.