Falcons GM Ian Cunningham: 2026 draft is ‘last year we ever have five picks’

The Falcons’ picks are projected to be at Nos. 48, 79, 114, 196 and 231. They have one pick in every round except the first and fifth.

Cunningham went through a similar scenario in 2022, his first year as the Chicago Bears assistant general manager. The Bears didn’t have a first-round pick and held six total selections, but after making four trades on Day 3, they finished with an 11-man draft class.

The 40-year-old Cunningham learned to use every method possible to manufacture picks. He plans to put his lessons to work and follow a similar path in April’s draft.

“There’s a chance that we may end up with just five, right?” Cunningham said. “But I hope that that’s not the case.”

The Falcons’ desire to add more picks stems from their priority to build depth.

Cunningham, who’s completed his initial evaluation of the team’s roster, believes the Falcons have “some really good players at the top” of their depth chart but still have holes to fill. Needs for depth and competition exist at quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker and several other areas.

Still, Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski likes where his roster stands entering the NFL’s busiest two-month stretch of roster construction.

“I feel good about where we are,” Stefanski said. “There’s 32 teams — everybody feels like they could use a few more guys at a bunch of different spots, but I feel good about the guys we have. I feel really good about the plan Ian has in place, and then I feel really good about when I finally get my hands on these guys when we get coaching them.”

If the Falcons are unable to add more picks to their current stash, it adds pressure to hit on their small supply. Because no matter the number of picks, Cunningham’s goal — adding depth — remains unchanged.

Stefanski embraces the challenge. He enjoys the process of trying to find unheralded, overlooked prospects late in the draft or in undrafted free agency. He still remembers being an assistant coach with the Minnesota Vikings when Adam Thielen, who retired in January after a 13-year career, first walked through the team’s doors as a rookie minicamp tryout player.

Stories like that one and other diamonds in the rough make Stefanski eager to find more. Discovering players other teams don’t know, or know little about, is one of the fun parts of coaching, he said. The Falcons, with limited picks, have more reason to grab their shovel and start digging.

“Anybody can tell you those first-round picks,” Stefanski said. “So, spending some time on the back end — I think our position coaches, our scouts, do a great job of identifying some guys that may be in the seventh round, maybe come as a part of the undrafted free agent process. Those are guys that can affect your winning and losing on Sundays in the fall.”

The Falcons have no intention to need to have to clear the five-pick hurdle again. But it’s merely another obstacle in a busy, strenuous first offseason for Stefanski and Cunningham in Atlanta.

The new brass won’t run from it. This, Cunningham said, is why he does the job. It’s a challenge, but an exciting one — and that, no matter how many picks the Falcons have, won’t soon tarnish the first-year general manager’s perspective on the opportunity at hand.

“If we had seven picks, it’d be a challenge and it’d be exciting,” Cunningham said. “Again, we’ll figure it out, and that’s why I’m having fun in this seat already.”