Surprise Atlanta Falcon Added to ESPN's Top Trade Candidates List

The Atlanta Falcons are no strangers to trade talks.

Kirk Cousins has been subjected to trade rumors and hypotheticals since the moment he was benched the week before the Falcons faced the New York Giants in December of last year.

As November 4th's NFL Trade Deadline nears, Cousins is named on ESPN's list of top possible trade targets around the NFL, but coming in at No. 21, he's not the first Falcons player named.

No, it's not running back Tyler Allgeier who heads the list either. Surprisingly, he's not on the list at all.

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It's fourth-year edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie who comes in at No. 16, with the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears deemed the best fit for the 2022 second-round pick. ESPN doesn't consider his move likely at just 25%, but the reasoning for a possible trade makes sense.

"Ebiketie has had trade interest dating back to the offseason," Jeremy Fowler wrote on ESPN. "The 2022 second-round pick is on an expiring contract, and rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker are a big part of Atlanta's future at edge rusher. The Falcons don't necessarily want to trade Ebiketie but typically at least listen to offers when presented."

He's seen his snap counts diminish as Pearce and Walker have grown more comfortable in their roles. Despite showing flashes each of the last two seasons with six sacks in each, he's never taken the next step to become a consistent threat off the edge and doesn't have a sack this season.

Ebiketie and veteran Leonard Floyd are scheduled to be free agents at the end of the season. It seems unlikely the Falcons would re-sign both players with Bralen Trice waiting in the wings to displace one of them in the edge rotation. He'll be nearly two years removed from the knee injury that robbed him of his rookie season and so far, all of his second season.

The Falcons invested heavily in the edge position this offseason with Walker and Pearce and will likely look to Trice on a rookie contract to provide depth, rather than offer Ebiketie a second contract.

The Cowboys are flush with draft picks after trading Micah Parsons to Green Bay. Don't expect them to part ways with the 2026 first-rounder they got in that trade, but they have a fifth-round comp pick on the books that could look good to Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot.

The Bears have eight picks, including a fourth-rounder from the Rams and a seventh-round comp pick. Meanwhile, the Falcons have just five picks heading into 2026.

Trading Ebiketie would be risky as the Falcons hope to make a playoff run in the second half of the season. While they could use more picks in 2026, Walker has battled injuries through training camp and preseason. He missed last week's game against the 49ers and is questionable for Sunday's clash with the Miami Dolphins.

Meanwhile, ESPN lists Cousins's chances of being moved at 20%, slightly worse than Ebiketie's odds of being traded. They list the Minnesota Vikings as the best fit, but at this point, it seems clear that no one is going to meet the Falcons' asking price in a trade.

It seems strange to read that the Falcons could be in a position to trade away a pass rusher, but Ebiketie is out of contract and has fallen down the depth chart, so it's logical.