The Falcons came out of the 2026 Draft with just six picks, no first-rounder, and still managed to give Ian Cunningham a pretty clean opening act in his first year running the show. After three weeks, Atlanta has already seen enough from its rookie class to know this group can help - even if the picture is shifting from week to week.
That was especially true in the Week 3 win over the Packers, when the rookie rotation got a little scrambled. Ethan Onianwa was a healthy inactive, Anterio Thompson is still hurt, and the focus fell on four names: Avieon Terrell, Zachariah Branch, Kendal Daniels, and Harold Perkins Jr.
Terrell, the second-round corner, has been one of the more encouraging rookie defenders in football through the opening month. He spent most of the early stretch working out of the slot, but Billy Bowman Jr.’s return pushed him out of that spot.
With Bowman back in the nickel and C.J. Henderson and Mike Hughes on the outside, Terrell’s workload dipped hard against Green Bay.
He played just 13 defensive snaps in the 21-point win, and only one of those came in the slot. The rest came on the boundary, where he filled in for both Henderson and Hughes.
The upside: he wasn’t targeted. The downside: his snap count took a real hit.
Verdict: Stock a tiny bit down
Branch’s night followed a similar shape, at least in terms of playing time. The third-round receiver logged a career-low snap total on offense, but the context matters.
Atlanta was playing from ahead instead of chasing points, so the Falcons leaned on the run game instead of opening things up through the air. Branch still got work with the starters on the first two drives, caught a seven-yard pass, and continued to chip in on special teams.
He also stood out as a run blocker, leading the team in run blocking grade and delivering a solid block on Keisean Nixon during one Bijan Robinson carry. For a 5-foot-9, 177-pound receiver, that kind of effort matters.
Verdict: Stock slightly up
Daniels has been the most impressive rookie in the class so far, and that’s what made Week 3 a little strange. The fourth-round linebacker had started opposite Divine Deablo since Week 1 and had been all over the field, but his snap count dropped in the Packers game.
After playing more than 40 snaps in each of his first two NFL games, he was on the field for only 25 against Green Bay. Perkins, meanwhile, nearly doubled that number.
Daniels still flashed with a couple of nice TFLs, which only made the reduced workload more noticeable. Whether this was just Ulbrich managing his rookie’s reps or something else, the usage was hard to read.
Verdict: Stock slightly down
Then there’s Perkins, who is starting to look like the real steal of the class. Atlanta got him outside the top 200 after he had once been viewed as a first-round talent for 2025, and the appeal was obvious: a versatile, undersized linebacker with obvious ability that teams overthought.
Falcons fans saw it right away in camp and the preseason, and now it’s showing up in the regular season too. Against the Packers, Perkins stepped into a bigger role and essentially took on the Daniels job next to Deablo at LB2.
He played 43 total snaps, with 40 coming in coverage, and held up well. His 83.8 coverage grade led the team and ranked fifth among all linebackers in Week 3, while his 82.6 defensive grade was third among rookie linebackers, behind only Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles.
That’s a strong sign for Atlanta, and it points to Perkins continuing to eat into Daniels’ workload.
In Other News...
Falcons Defense Could Seize Control In Division Showdown
Monday night brings a familiar kind of pressure for the Falcons, only with more at stake than usual: a trip to New Orleans with first place in the NFC South on the line. Atlantas defense has built its identity around stopping the run, and that strength now meets a Saints offense that may have to lean even harder on its ground game with Travis Etienne expected to sit because of a hamstring injury.
For the Falcons, that is exactly the sort of matchup that can tilt a division race. New Orleans still has Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson available in the backfield, but Kamara has not been as effective as he once was as a runner, which puts even more weight on a group that already ranks among the leagues toughest against the run. If Atlanta can control that area again, the rest of the night starts to look a lot simpler. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Judon Gets Another Shot To Prove Raheem Morris Right
Matt Judon is getting another crack at the kind of opportunity that can change a veterans season, this time with the San Francisco 49ers. The four-time Pro Bowler is signing to the practice squad and could be elevated to the active roster, giving a thin edge-rush group some much-needed depth while Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams are out.
For Falcons followers, the more familiar part of the story is the connection back to Raheem Morris, who once coached Judon in Atlanta before taking over as the 49ers defensive coordinator. Morris has long valued disruptive pressure off the edge, and Judon now has a chance to show he still fits that mold in a different locker room, under circumstances that could put him back in the rotation quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Trade Swap Is Already Changing How This Defense Looks
Through the first three games, Maason Smith has already given the Falcons a different look up front after arriving from Jacksonville in the deal that sent Ruke Orhorhoro the other way. Atlanta wanted a bigger body at defensive tackle, and Smith has slid right into a starting role while bringing a steady, disruptive presence to the line.
The early returns suggest the swap is fitting what the Falcons were after, with Smith ranking third among defensive tackles in pass rush win rate and handling meaningful snaps in a way that has helped the defense. Orhorhoro, meanwhile, is currently buried on Jacksonvilles depth chart, which only sharpens the contrast as Atlanta watches the trade pay off on the field. [Read more 🡒]