Grading the Falcons 2026 Offseason

This offseason for the Atlanta Falcons has been nothing short of eventful. Between the hiring of a new regime, the arrest of their star rookie defensive end and a family reunion on draft weekend, one thing the Falcons were not missing was headlines.

Let’s review the team’s offseason moves and their overall grade.

 

Free Agency

Due to their limited cap space, the Falcons’ underwhelming free agency class heavily addressed the roster’s holes and lack of depth. It is a class headlined by the signing of Tua Tagovailoa to a league minimum of $1.3 million. Tagovailoa is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he threw for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdown passes and 23 total turnovers.

Other notable signings include defensive end De’shawn Hand, linebackers Christian Harris and Azeez Ojulari, wide receiver Jahan Dotson, running back Brian Robinson Jr., and reunions with Austin Hooper and Olamide Zacchaeus.

Some of those signings, such as Robinson, Hand and Ojulari, were much needed, However, when you compare the players they bought in to the players that exited (Tyler Allgeier, Kaden Ellis, Dee Alford, Darnell Mooney, etc.), this class, at best, elevates the team’s floor, which is something Ian Cunningham discussed in detail on multiple occasions this offseason.

Free agency grade: C-

 

Draft

The Falcons did a solid job in this year’s draft, provided that they only had five picks and were left without their first-round pick this year as a result of last year’s trade for James Pearce Jr. Despite needing a run-stuffing nose tackle, they passed on an opportunity to take Lee Hunter with the 48th pick. They got one of the bigger steals of this year’s draft in defensive back Avieon Terrell, younger brother of All-Pro cornerback A.J. Terrell.

Drafting Terrell is a feel-good story for both the team and family, but more importantly, it adds another talented young player to Atlanta’s secondary.

In the third round, Atlanta took wide receiver Zachariah Branch from the University of Georgia. On Day Three, the Falcons added to their linebacker room, selecting Kendall Daniels out of Oklahoma and Harold Perkins out of LSU in the fourth and sixth round respectively.

They spent an additional sixth-round pick (acquired in a trade back with the Las Vegas Raiders) on defensive tackle Anterio Thompson out of the University of Washington and offensive tackle Ethan Onianwa out of Ohio State.

Draft grade: B

 

Overall Scope

The Falcons’ inaugural offseason under their new regime was a roller coaster ride. While their free agency class was underwhelming and did little to raise the team’s ceiling, their draft class, headlined by the selections of Terrell and Branch provides hope that the team can continue to add young talent to its roster.

Ultimately, while it is important to account for the team’s lack of resources, offseason success in the NFL is largely judged based on how you’ve improved in comparison to the state of your roster from the previous season.

Quite frankly, while the Falcons did a respectable job of addressing their needs, it’s difficult to say that they have improved as a team entering 2026.

Overall Offseason Grade: C