The Atlanta Falcons announced on Apr. 25 that they selected University of Oklahoma linebacker Kendal Daniels with the 134th pick in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
This move came after the Falcons traded their original fourth-round selection, pick No. 122, to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for picks No. 134 and No. 208, giving Atlanta a total of six draft picks this year. The team competes in the National Football League’s NFC South division, according to the official website.
Daniels played his first three collegiate seasons as a safety at Oklahoma State before transferring to Oklahoma for his final year and moving into a hybrid linebacker-safety-rusher role. In five college seasons, he recorded 293 tackles, including over thirty tackles for loss and seven-and-a-half sacks. Dane Brugler of The Athletic said: “Daniels is a long, versatile athlete with experience all over the field. He covers a ton of ground and plays sound football as a gap run defender, whether as a force player or alley runner. However, he tends to play with tunnel vision and can be inconsistent sifting through traffic. Offensive linemen get on him fast when he is in the box, leaving him stuck on contact. Overall, Daniels is a good-looking athlete with the range and movement skills to make plays at different levels of the field. Though some teams see him as a tweener, others believe he can provide value on subpackages and special teams.”
The Falcons are based in Atlanta, Georgia according to their official website according to the official website. The team began play as an expansion franchise in 1965 according to their official website and has advanced twice to the Super Bowl—in both 1998 and again in 2016 according to their official website. Freddie the Falcon serves as mascot for Atlanta’s football team according to their official site.
With Kaden Elliss leaving via free agency this offseason and Troy Andersen returning from injury on a one-year deal, there is competition among linebackers for starting roles next season alongside Divine Deablo.
Looking ahead, Daniels’ flexibility across defensive schemes could give him an opportunity to compete immediately for playing time within Jeff Ulbrich’s defense.