Football isn't played on paper. That's a good thing for the Atlanta Falcons, because they're getting absolutely shredded on paper for their picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.

To be fair, the Falcons didn't have a first-round pick in this year's draft thanks to the James Pearce trade last year. However, the overall haul is getting consistently poor grades with only random positive blurbs about one or two of their picks.

The latest negative voice to join the chorus is Dane Brugler at The Athletic, who has ranked Atlanta's draft class just 28th in the NFL. He did share some nice words about Avieon Terrell, at least.

"This was not just my favorite Falcons pick, but it produced what was probably my favorite moment of the entire draft. With his talent and “Honey Badger” aura, Terrell had no business falling to No. 48. But the fact that he’ll team up with his older brother in the same secondary? Amazing."

We won't claim that Atlanta got a top-five draft class, but we also feel the negativity about their picks is way over the top. The Falcons filled immediate needs at wide receiver, defensive tackle, linebacker and cornerback and added some depth at offensive tackle.

You can make a case that they should have taken an interior defensive lineman earlier than they did - but we really have no major complaints with the picks they made. They also got good value with the Terrell and Branch picks.

All the Falcons can do is prove the critics wrong when it's time to take the field.

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Atlanta Falcons ranked near the bottom for 6 picks