Falcons met with athletic LB prospect ahead of 2026 NFL draft

With the 2026 NFL draft now just three weeks away, the new front office regime for the Atlanta Falcons are finalizing their plans for what will be their first draft class. That includes the last of the meetings they are allotted by the league with the top college football prospects around the country.

While it's not entirely clear exactly who's in charge - whether it's former QB/Football President Matt Ryan , head coach Kevin Stefanski or general manager Ian Cunningham - what is clear is that Atlanta's roster still needs a lot of work before they're ready to compete with the heavyweights of the NFC like Seattle and LA.

One spot that will definitely need to be addressed is inside linebacker, which has been a sore point for the Falcons' defense for a long time now. One name to keep an eye on is that of James Madison's Trent Hendrick. According to Justin Melo at The Draft Network , Hendrick has met with Atlanta, as well as the Green Bay Packers , Chicago Bears , Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens .

The selling point for Hendrick will be his athleticism. While undersized for the position, Hendrick scored an 8.23 RAS with great agility and speed scores at his pro day. In 49 college games, Hendrick posted 209 tackles (19 for a loss), six sacks, five pass breakups and three forced fumbles.

One problem Atlanta may run into targeting linebackers is their lack of a first-round pick and only five picks overall in the draft. The good news on this front is that Hendrick will likely still be on the board in Day 3 owing to his small-school status.

For now, Christian Harris and Troy Andersen are set to battle for the other starting spot alongside Divine Deablo .

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons met with James Madison linebacker Trent Hendrick