ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons emptied their wallet in free agency and sacrificed their 2026 first-round pick to secure edge rusher James Pearce Jr. last year. General manager Terry Fontenot now faces a grueling wait until pick No. 48. A newly released Atlanta Falcons 2026 NFL mock draft by PFF outlines exactly how this front office can restock the roster on Day 2 and beyond. The simulator ignores flashy trades and zeroes in on pure muscle, reliable hands, and undeniable athletic freaks.
Finding the Missing Piece for Drake London
Picking at No. 48 eliminates the chance to grab a true WR1, but Atlanta already has Drake London. They need a route-running technician to punish zone defenses. PFF sends Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard to Atlanta in Round 2. Bernard lacks Olympic track speed, but he catches absolutely everything thrown into his zip code. He uses his 6-foot-1, 206-pound frame to shield defenders, turning tight windows into easy completions. You can already picture him turning a simple five-yard slant into a fresh set of downs on a critical third-and-four.
An Iron Man for the Secondary
In Round 3 (Pick No. 79), the Falcons address the defensive backfield with Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun. At 6-foot-2 and 189 pounds, Igbinosun brings immediate size to the perimeter. He started 53 games in his college career. He doesn’t just cover receivers; he reroutes them violently. His hips get tight in off-man coverage, but in a zone-heavy scheme, he hits like a linebacker and clogs passing lanes.
The Midshipman Muscle: Landon Robinson
Round 4 (Pick No. 122) delivers the steal of the draft: Navy defensive tackle Landon Robinson. At 5-foot-11 and 297 pounds, Robinson possesses a center of gravity that makes him impossible to move. He landed on Bruce Feldman’s renowned freaks list three times for a reason. Robinson power cleans 350 pounds, squats a mind-bending 700 pounds, and hit 20.13 mph on the GPS tracker. To maintain his mass at the Naval Academy, Robinson routinely woke up at 2:00 a.m. just to down a protein shake and a Gatorade bar. That relentless, blue-collar obsession perfectly fits the gritty culture Atlanta wants to establish.
Late-Round Dart Throws
PFF rounded out the simulator with BYU linebacker Jack Kelly in Round 6 (No. 215) and Alabama center Parker Brailsford in Round 7 (No. 231). Kelly brings explosive blitzing ability off the edge and projects as an instant special teams contributor. Brailsford dominated in zone-blocking concepts at Alabama. When the offense let him use his feet to climb to the second level, he consistently flattened linebackers.
“I would take a ladder into my backyard and just do footwork drills with weights on my legs. I was just working out all the time. My neighbors probably thought I was crazy.”— Landon Robinson, Navy Defensive Tackle
Playoff Implications / What’s Next
The NFC South remains a fistfight. The Falcons elevated their floor during free agency, but they need cheap, impact rookies to sustain a deep playoff run in January 2027. Hitting on a WR2 like Bernard prevents defenses from rolling double coverage toward London. Securing a run-stuffer like Robinson immediately patches up a defensive interior that leaked yardage late in games last season. Fontenot must trust his scouting department to find gold in the middle rounds. The margins for error are completely gone.
