The Atlanta Falcons entered the 2026 NFL Draft with their backs against the wall. With no first-round pick and just five picks at their disposal, the prior regime left a serious mess for the new regime. And given the circumstances, the Falcons came out of this draft as stellar as they possibly could have.
They landed 3 potential Day 1 starters in Avieon Terrell, Zachariah Branch, and Kendal Daniels, and bet on players with versatility and athleticism throughout the draft. This regime sought to bring in guys who fit what they want to build, but that didn't stop ESPN NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. from dunking on them.
While Kiper gave the Falcons' draft class a C+ grade, that feels on the lower end of the spectrum. This draft deserves at least a B given the extenuating circumstances. And his reasoning was even worse, because he credited the grade due to those previous circumstances despite knowing who to blame.
"The final line of my grade for the Falcons' 2025 draft read, "The real hit -- the key reason I gave Atlanta this 'C' -- was trading away the 2026 first-rounder." Well, it didn't help this year's grade, either," Kiper wrote.. "No first-rounder and only a handful of selections hurt the Falcons, but their Day 3 haul wasn't very impressive."
Mel Kiper's assessment of the Falcons' draft class is way off base
Are we really penalizing Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski for a decision Terry Fontenot made? Because frankly, that doesn't seem fair. The James Pearce Jr. trade wasn't a move they made, and after watching the Rams draft Ty Simpson, the Dirty Birds deserve some credit for making this deal.
The common misconception surrounding the NFL Draft is that you need to make more selections to have a better draft class, and while that's somewhat true, it's not completely true. All a front office wants is to give themselves as many swings at the plate as possible, you cannot force a pick to hit.
A team who makes 10 picks is always gonna be perceived as having a better draft than a team who makes five picks, but Kiper needs to grade a draft like this on a curve. So many external factors were playing against the Falcons here, but it wasn't a mess Cunnningham made, it was a mess he inherited.
The weird part here is that Kiper sung the praises of Atlanta's Day 2 picks, yet criticized their approach on Day 3. Let's be real here, what front office isn't betting on upside on Day 3, especially in Rounds 6 and 7? They had three picks after the top 200, I don't know what he really expected.
The Falcons drafted some talented players, so I'm ready to see this draft class be extra motivated to prove him wrong come the regular season, when things really count.
Add us as a preferred source on Google