FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — With the 134th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected University of Oklahoma linebacker Kendal Daniels.
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The Falcons traded back in the fourth round to make their selection, sending the 122nd pick to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for pick 134 in the fourth round and pick 208 in the sixth round. It was the first trade of the draft for Atlanta and brings the team's total number of draft picks to six.
Daniels is an athletic linebacker who played safety for his first three seasons at Oklahoma State. Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been drawn to rangy, long and versatile off-ball linebackers, and Daniels fits squarely into that category. He ranks in the 97th percentile for height among linebackers who have ever been measured at the NFL Combine, and has the movement ability to put his size to great use.
Daniels spent four seasons at Oklahoma State from 2021-24 before transferring to Oklahoma for the 2025 season. In his five collegiate seasons, Daniels recorded 293 tackles, 31.5 tackles for a loss, 16 pass defenses, 7.5 sacks, and five interceptions.
Let's take a closer look at what Daniels brings to the Falcons.
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 242 pounds
Age: 23
School: University of Oklahoma
2025 Stats: 13 starts through 13 games played | 53 total tackles (nine for a loss) | 7.5 career sacks (5.5 coming in 2024)
Honors: Freshman All-American (Oklahoma State, 2022), Second Team All-Big 12 (2022), Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year (2022)
Expert Opinions
Dane Brugler, The Athletic: "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."
Why he fits
Daniels seems to have past experience that Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich covets at the inside linebacker position, which is actually safety looks in college. That's Daniels, who played both safety and linebacker at Oklahoma State before transferring in his final year to rival Oklahoma.
He spent his first three seasons as a safety before moving into a hybrid linebacker-safety-rusher role with the Sooners in 2025, per Brugler's scouting report. Daniels knows how to be flexible both positionally and schematically when needed. He has played for four different defensive coordinators throughout his college years.
He joins a room that has a spot open with Kaden Elliss leaving in free agency. Divine Deablo remains as one of the starting linebackers, but the spot next to him is open for grabs. Troy Andersen returns on a one-year deal following a rookie contract cut short because of injuries. Ulbrich has stated this offseason that the Falcons could utilize Jalon Walker's off-ball linebacker skill set a bit this year, but in terms of true starters, Daniels should have a chance to compete.
This story will continue to be updated.
