Falcons may have landed a Day 3 gem in the 2026 NFL Draft

TL;DR

The Atlanta Falcons may have found a valuable player in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft by selecting Anterio Thompson, a defensive tackle from Washington, after trading for Maason Smith. This move indicates their confidence in addressing their defensive needs.

Key points

Atlanta Falcons drafted Anterio Thompson in the sixth round
Falcons traded for Maason Smith before the draft
Thompson is considered a Day 3 gem due to his elite RAS score

Atlanta FalconsJaguarsMaason SmithAnterio Thompson

Falcons may have landed a Day 3 gem in the 2026 NFL Draft

Heading into the 2026 NFL Draft, most analysts believed that the Atlanta Falcons would be drafting a defensive tackle early, with many mocks pairing Atlanta with a nose tackle in Round 2.

In retrospect, it's now clear the Falcons believe they solved a large part of that issue by trading for Jaguars DT Maason Smith the week before the draft.

So, Atlanta didn't feel the need to take a DT early - and waited all the way until the sixth round to take one. That's where they landed Washington's Anterio Thompson, who may qualify as a legitimate Day 3 gem. Just take a look at his elite RAS score.

Thompson bounced around during his college career, putting in one year each at Iowa, Western Michigan and Washington.

All together, he appeared in 33 college games, totaling 2.5 sacks, four tackles for a loss and four pass breakups. Peak Aaron Donald production this is not, but what matters are Thompson's traits, including elite speed at his position, paired with solid agility and explosiveness.

As a rookie, Thompson projects as a backup behind Brandon Dorlus. He'll need to win his playing time by out-competing the other rotational tackles but Thompson has all the tools he needs to eventually break into Atlanta's starting lineup.