New Atlanta Falcons Head Coach and GM Weigh in On Georgia Football Players

The Atlanta Falcons broke a trend last draft season. An NFL organization that is located in the state of Georgia is not known for drafting players out of the University of Georgia. Weird considering the amount of success the Bulldogs have had over the years.

However, last year, the Falcons drafted Jalon Walker with the 15th overall pick and he proceeded to be a very impactful player on defense for the Falcons.

While maybe that was a sign of things changing in the Falcons' draft strategy, things will for sure be changing now.

Following the season, the Falcons announced the firing of head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot. It led to the hiring of Kevin Stefanski as head coach and Ian Cunningham as the new general manager.

The Bulldogs once again have a litany of players available in this year's draft and the Falcons, despite not having a first round pick this year, will have the opportunity to pick one or multiple of them up.

New Atlanta Falcons Regime Showers Georgia Football With Praise

Dec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jalon Walker (11) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

And based on what Stefanski and Cunningham had to say about Coach Smart and his players on Fox 5, that might be be the case this year.

"Tough. That's what Kirby [Smart] is about. That's what that program is about," Stefanski said. "I'll be there at their pro day in March to see it up close and personal, but you're getting a mentally and physically tough football player when they are coming out of Georgia."

Cunningham piled on top of that and added what he likes the most about players who come out of Georgia.

"They're usually pro ready," Cunningham said. "What Coach Smart has done there is really impressive. It's not surprising based off of his experience at Alabama under Coach Saban. But those guys are pro ready. They've been coached hard, they're smart they're discipline and they're tough mentally and physically."

The Bulldogs had 10 total players invited to this years combine. Last year they had 13 total players drafted, which was just two short of the record they set in 2022 when they had 15 players selected. They won't be breaking that record this year, but the assumption is that Georgia will have another strong class of players selected this year.

The NFL combine started on Monday and will continue throughout the week. Players will begin competing in on-field drills on Thursday.