INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Ian Cunningham made his media rounds at the NFL Scouting Combine Tuesday morning for the first time as the Atlanta Falcons general manager.
He discussed a wide range of topics from roster building and evaluations to the news of the day about Kyle Pitts and Kirk Cousins. Here's a recap of everything you need to know from every Cunningham touchpoint at the combine.
Picks, picks and more picks: The Falcons only have five picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Cunningham's hope is that's not how many the Falcons ultimately end up with. He wants more, even telling the Falcons scouting department last week in one of their draft meetings that 2026 is "the last time we will ever have five picks."
"That's going to be a part of our philosophy in order to have as many swings at the plate as we can," Cunningham said.
Cunningham's first year in Chicago as the team's assistant general manager was one in which the Bears did not have much draft capital. He said he learned then to "use every method as humanly possible in order to manufacture picks."
"There's a chance that we may end up with just five," Cunningham said of this year with Atlanta, "but I hope that's not the case."
Kyle Pitts and the franchise tag: The Falcons are expected to franchise tag the tight end very soon, with the deal expecting to be done as early as Tuesday, per Cunningham. This is a mechanism Cunningham — who has been in his position for only a short time — said is very important for the Falcons in their current state of evaluating the roster rapidly.
"It's the time frame that we have here where you get hired and you have to make a big decision like that," Cunningham said, "we felt that it was the right decision to use the franchise tag on him now to allow us to evaluate and see things forward."
Cunningham said the thought of tagging Pitts began marinating during the interview process with the Falcons' search committee. His main driving force? How to keep "a player of his caliber" from hitting the open market.
Kirk Cousins' release: Another piece of news involved Cousins and the quarterback's future. Cunningham confirmed the Falcons will release Cousins at the start of the new league year in March with a post-June 1 designation. This, Cunningham said, was out of respect for Cousins. When asked, Cunningham said the Falcons will not look into re-signing Cousins following his release.
An update on Michael Penix Jr.: Cunningham said Penix is "where he should be" in his recovery from a season-ending knee injury.
"I feel like he is doing a really good job," Cunningham said of Penix. "He's coming in every single day, and he's doing what he needs to do. We are confident that he is on track."
Cunningham said Penix came by the draft room at the Falcons' facility last week to introduce himself in person.
"We got a chance to talk a little bit and I told him, 'Hey, we're in here trying to find you guys some more teammates,'" Cunningham said. "I am looking forward to getting to know him a little bit more and seeing how he does with his rehab."
A note on Kaden Elliss: One of the Falcons biggest free agents in 2026 is inside linebacker Kaden Elliss. Cunningham was specifically asked about Elliss' future.
"I won't get into that. I feel like for Kaden, he's a free agent. We will see how that goes moving forward," Cunningham said. "... He is a guy we are obviously evaluating, and thinking there are a lot of linebackers in this market. I feel like we have to really look at our cap situation and our roster moving forward."
Prioritizing the wide receiver position: Cunningham said the receiver position is one that he considers "premium." Like Elliss, Cunningham would not speculate on Darnell Mooney's future with the organization, saying "that is another thing that we are working through right now, and "we will decide that here shortly."
In the interview room: The Falcons were in non-stop interviews with prospects from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday night. Cunningham said the Falcons' contingent in the room is a little lighter than he has been a part of in years past, with the group landing around 10 individuals.
He detailed this group includes president of football Matt Ryan, head coach Kevin Stefanski, the specific coordinator and position coach of the interviewee as well as scouting department higher ups.
