Falcons General Manager Ian Cunningham Faces Draft Dilemma

Ian Cunningham is edging toward his first draft as Falcons General Manager with a clear problem on the board: not enough picks, and no first-rounder to headline the weekend.

Atlanta walks into this draft holding just five selections, the bill coming due on last year’s aggressive move back into the first round to grab edge rusher James Pearce. That gamble shaped their entire offseason. It helps explain why the Falcons hit free agency hard, filling as many gaps as possible before they ever get on the clock.

Cunningham, though, doesn’t sound remotely content to sit on his hands and accept a light draft class.

“For us, it’s one of those things where we have to go into this thinking we only have five picks. That’s worst case,” he said, via the team’s website. “If we come out of it with just five picks, we come out of it with just five picks. We are already looking at different ways to potentially manufacture some more. But if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”

That’s the tightrope. He wants more “swings at the plate,” but the price of extra at-bats can be steep.

Unless Cunningham is prepared to dip again into future capital, the paths are brutally simple: trade down when the board allows it, or listen on current players and see if the roster itself can be converted into fresh draft currency.

The strategy is clear enough. The real question is how bold he’s willing to be when the phones start ringing and the clock is ticking.