One Decision in High School Changed This Falcons Rookie’s Life

The Atlanta Falcons used a late-round pick on defensive tackle Anterio Thompson, selecting him 208th overall in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The path to the league for this day three selection was far from standard. Thompson once nearly walked away from football altogether, making his rise to the NFL, the sport’s highest level, all the more remarkable.

“I was giving up on football at a point in high school,” Thompson shared after being selected.

But before he could walk away for good, someone made sure he didn’t.

“My head coach ended up being one of my advisors, Coach [Jeff] Horner, and he was telling the guys to get me back into football. It was going into my senior year, and I’m not going to lie, if it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if I would have been playing football still.”

Thompson returned to football as a senior in high school, earning all-region honors as a defensive tackle, before signing with Iowa Western Community College in 2021. He redshirted his freshman season while adjusting to college life, but once he took the field as a sophomore, he did not look back. Thompson helped lead the Revivers to an NJCAA Division 1 national championship, totaling 32 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and six sacks across 12 games in 2022.

Those two years at Iowa Western helped him refocus on football and, most importantly, laid the foundation for bigger opportunities ahead.

“I looked at it as a second chance,” he said. “I knew I wanted to play football, but I knew I had to get through JUCO. So, I kind of just put my head down and worked there.”

Thompson earned the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Division 1 level the following year, joining the Iowa Hawkeyes. Over the next three seasons, he suited up for three programs: Iowa, Western Michigan, and Washington, appearing in 33 total games and totaling 65 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and four pass breakups.

Now, he finds himself in the NFL, completing a journey that he once ended before it even began. It’s a path defined by persistence, resilience, and hard work. And while sixth-round picks often arrive with fewer guarantees, that doesn’t define their careers, or their ability to make a name for themselves in the league.

For a player like Anterio Thompson, the path will be no different. Nothing will be handed to him. But if his journey so far has shown anything, it’s that he has already beaten the odds before.

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