The Atlanta Falcons may finally get the full Kendal Daniels experience when training camp opens on July 29.
That matters because the buzz around the rookie linebacker has been building since the Falcons took him in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, Daniels looks like a rare kind of defender: a converted safety who can move like one, but carry the frame of a linebacker. It’s the sort of profile that gets fans dreaming fast, especially when a team is trying to replace Kaden Elliss after his departure in free agency.
For a while, though, that excitement had nowhere to go. Daniels missed all of mandatory minicamp because of the same calf injury that bothered him in college, and he was even spotted in a walking boot earlier this offseason. The injury slowed the early momentum, but it didn’t erase the appeal.
Now there’s a real chance to see what the Falcons think they drafted. Daniel Flick of the AJC reported that Daniels expects to be full go in training camp, which would give Atlanta its first real look at the kind of player who made noise in college.
Daniels was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and Oklahoma used him all over the field. Brent Venables deployed him in a "cheetah" role, moving him around to maximize his physical traits. He played safety, linebacker, and even off the edge, a sign of just how much ground he can cover and how many problems he can create for an offense.
Atlanta figures to use that versatility too. The Falcons can envision Daniels as a long-term partner for Divine Deablo, the new green dot and another safety-turned-linebacker. If Daniels is indeed ready to roll when camp begins, the wait for the hype to turn into something real may be almost over.
In Other News...
Falcons May Finally Be Out Of Patience With Former Draft Pick
DeAngelo Malones place in Atlanta has become one of the more interesting camp storylines for a defense trying to sort out its edge-rushing depth. The former third-round pick is back on a one-year deal after spending the last three seasons in the mix, and his rsum with the Falcons is solid enough to keep him in the conversation, even if it has not yet translated into a regular starting role.
Malone has appeared in 58 games for Atlanta without making a start, and his production has been modest, with three sacks and 60 tackles. Now he is facing a tougher path than ever, with younger pass-rushers pushing for snaps and the roster picture getting crowded enough that his margin for error feels thin heading into camp. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Fans Just Got An Encouraging Billy Bowman Jr. Sign
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Bowmans recovery now has the next big checkpoints in sight, with training camp looming as the clearest test of where he stands. The Falcons can afford to be patient with him, but any sign that he is moving closer to football activity is worth noting, especially for a player whose availability could become a real factor once the season gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
Arthur Blank Just Entered His Biggest Falcons Summer Yet
Arthur Blank spent the first stretch of the 2025 offseason doing what he almost never does: tearing down the structure he had in place and starting over. Shortly after the season ended, the Falcons owner moved on from Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot, then kept going with a front office shakeup that signaled he was no longer interested in small fixes after an extended playoff drought.
Blank also handed Matt Ryan a new president of football role, adding a familiar face to help guide the next era, and the message was clear that this reboot was about more than just names on a chart. For Blank, the pressure is now baked into every step of the process, because the new regime has to prove his drastic decisions were the right ones and finally push Atlanta toward the kind of stability and performance it has been chasing for years. [Read more 🡒]