FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons have had a busy offseason filled with leadership changes, free agency meetings, roster evaluations and preparation for the 2026 NFL Draft. When the new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, we will begin to see their offseason plans put into action.
At the NFL Combine, general manager Ian Cunningham discussed an aspect of the organization's mindset for constructing its roster in his first year.
"Creating more depth on this team," he said when asked about the Falcons’ biggest need. "Obviously, we have some really good players up top. But, with a limited number of picks, we've got to create some more depth and make sure that we hit on these picks."
While the specific cap space projections for the Falcons vary depending on the website or source, Cunningham said the team would "really look at our cap situation" when evaluating decisions at this time.
The NFL's negotiating period began Monday, and the early reports linking Atlanta to players on the open market show the Falcons taking a cap-conscious approach and preserving financial flexibility for the future.
"You have to be disciplined," Cunningham explained at the combine. "As much as you want to maybe dive back into free agency a little bit more. Like I said in my introductory press conference, you don't want to mortgage the future either, right? You can't just look at things in a vacuum. You got to have a mindset on the future. And I know that we're going to have more money at our disposal next year. That's important to me. And we'll have more picks at our disposal next year as well."
Teams don't operate with a single-year outlook; they plan for multiple years at a time. Borrowing from the future to pay for the present can get tricky for teams and lead to paralyzing financial situations down the road. By taking an approach that focuses on building out roster depth, the Falcons should be able to stay within their budget and still find valuable players.
Atlanta's roster is comprised of high-quality starters on both sides of the ball, which is another reason Cunningham emphasized adding depth. Offensively, the Falcons have an experienced offensive line and star skill players like Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Defensively, Jessie Bates and A.J. Terrell are established veterans and the last two draft classes have shown a lot of promise.
Positions with established starters aren't off-limits at this time of year, though. Teams are always looking to get better at every spot.
"I think that's our job on the personnel staff is to add competition, but I think competition brings out the best in everybody," Cunningham said. "And, also, if you're competing, then you have a good chance to win a job and hopefully help us win games. So, I'm looking forward to adding to the roster."
