It's officially 2026 NFL Draft day, but barring a surprise trade, the Atlanta Falcons will not partake in the festivities until tomorrow night. That means Atlanta's assessment of Day 1 boils down to the teams who will affect them most: the Los Angeles Rams, who have their first-round pick, and their three NFC South rivals.
Of those teams, the Falcons are right to be fearful of the Rams' approach, but within the division, the New Orleans Saints are getting scary. They currently pick eighth, but there has been some last-second buzz they could trade up into the top three since the Arizona Cardinals are open for business.
In Daniel Jeremiah's final 2026 mock draft, that's exactly what he has them doing. After Jeremiah had the New York Jets drafting Texas tech edge rusher David Bailey, Arvell Reese was still available, so he had New Orleans strike a deal to move up to pick 3 and draft Reese, which is bad news for Atlanta.
Falcons fans would be livid if the New Orleans Saints traded up in the 2026 Draft
The Saints enter this draft from a clear position of strength: they are basically guaranteed to land a blue-chip prospect who will likely make a Day 1 impact. It could be Mansoor Delane, or Carnell Tate, or even Sonny Styles, but Reese is looked at as a top-three prospect in this class with elite upside.
The 20-year-old logged 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks , and 27 pressures in his final season at Ohio State, so even though he played linebacker in college, he'll likely transition to edge rusher in the NFL. But since he has little experience playing off the edge, he's a project who will need to add weight.
Styles has a higher floor than his former teammate, but in terms of ceiling, Reese's could be the highest in this draft. He's a bit raw right now, but allowing him to join a stacked Saints' defense where Brandon Staley will oversee his development isn't exactly the most favorable situation in Atlanta.
We have no clue if Cam Jordan will be back in New Orleans, but they already made plenty of big signings this offseason, including Kaden Elliss, Travis Etienne, and David Edwards. And Tyler Shough will only improve, so the Saints landing a defensive cornerstone tonight will make them even scarier.
The Falcons' offensive line is in enough flux after the surprise retirement of Kaleb McGary, but Jake Matthews is also on the wrong side of 30. So having to deal with Reese for the next decade-plus without any long-term options at either tackle position will have the Dirty Birds behind the 8-ball.
He'll make Bijan Robinson's life tougher. He'll make Michael Penix's life tougher. He'll even make Kevin Stefanski's life tougher if New Orleans is able to swing a trade up for Reese. The Saints are becoming a popular pick to win the NFC South in 2026, and Reese could become the final piece of the puzzle.