Falcons select Oklahoma linebacker Kendal Daniels in fourth round
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons traded down and added to their defense to open Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
After landing a sixth-round pick to move down 12 spots in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Falcons selected Oklahoma linebacker Kendal Daniels at No. 134 overall in the fourth round Saturday afternoon. Daniels joins Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell and Georgia receiver Zachariah Branch in the team’s draft class, with three picks still remaining on Day 3.
The 6-foot-5, 242-pound Daniels spent the first four years of his career at Oklahoma State before transferring to Oklahoma for his final college campaign. Across 54 games, he recorded 293 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and five interceptions.
A consensus four-star safety recruit, Daniels redshirted his first year in Stillwater, Oklahoma before breaking onto the scene in 2022. Daniels won Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, collecting 71 tackles and three interceptions across 13 games.
Daniels earned All-Big 12 honorable mention honors in 2023 after making 105 tackles, two interceptions and a pair of sacks while starting all 14 games played. Oklahoma State moved Daniels from safety to linebacker in 2024. He made 64 tackles, including 10.5 for loss, to go along with 5.5 sacks in 12 games.
Daniels transferred to Oklahoma for the 2025 season, and he started all 13 games at the Sooners’ cheetah position, a hybrid role between linebacker and safety. He notched 53 tackles, nine tackles for loss and three pass breakups at Oklahoma.
The Falcons announced Daniels as a linebacker. They have six off-ball linebackers on their roster, headlined by Divine Deablo, J.D. Bertrand and free agent signees Christian Harris and Channing Tindall.
The Falcons double-dipped on defense in the sixth round and bolstered their offensive line depth in the seventh round, adding Washington defensive tackle Anterio Thompson, LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. and Ohio State offensive tackle Ethan Onianwa on Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons selected Thompson at No. 208 overall, Perkins at No. 215 overall and Onianwa at No. 231 overall.
Thompson, who stands 6-foot-2 and 306 pounds, blazed a 4.73 40-yard dash at Washington’s pro day. He started his career at Iowa Western Community College in 2022 before transferring to Iowa in 2023, to Western Michigan in 2024 and Washington in 2025.
The Madison, Wis., native played in 13 games and made three starts at Washington, collecting 30 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2025. In his lone season at Western Michigan, Thompson made 34 tackles and one sack, which followed a year at Iowa in which he made one tackle in seven games.
Perkins offers a more prestigious profile. Rated as a five-star recruit by several outlets, Perkins burst onto the scene in 2022, earning Freshman All-American accolades after notching 72 tackles and a team-high 13 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
The 6-foot-1, 223-pound Perkins started all 13 games at linebacker in 2023, again leading LSU with 13 tackles for loss and receiving second-team All-SEC honors. Four games into 2024, Perkins suffered a torn ACL that ended his season prematurely.
Perkins returned in time for the 2025 season, playing in 12 games with 11 starts. He recorded 56 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in his final college season, earning third-team All-SEC honors. He timed a 4.45 40-yard dash at LSU’s pro day and has experience playing off the edge and at inside linebacker.
Onianwa played in 37 games and made 34 starts from 2022-24 at Rice, where he played both left and right tackle. The 6-foot-7, 331-pounder transferred to Ohio State last offseason but didn’t crack the starting lineup with the Buckeyes. He appeared in all 13 games in a reserve role.
The Falcons finished their first draft haul under coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Ian Cunningham with six picks: Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell, Georgia receiver Zachariah Branch, Oklahoma linebacker Kendal Daniels, Thompson, Perkins and Onianwa.
