There are no two ways about it, the Atlanta Falcons have had a tough season. They head into Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints at 7-9 and with little to play for outside of maybe spoilers. Sort of.
The season began with high hopes with quarterback Michael Penix beginning his first full season as the starter. Surely, he’d join stud running back Bijan Robinson and star wide receiver Drake London to form an amalgam of scoring and offensive fury to run away with the NFC South. And maybe – just maybe – they’d get a breakout season from former first-round pick Kyle Pitts.
Yeah, none of that happened. There were moments of greatness, but not nearly enough of them.
For what it’s worth, they did finally get some movement up front on defense. The Falcons spent two first round picks this year on Jalon Walker and James Pearce, Jr., and they absolutely got their money’s worth.
Ben Solak of ESPN recently released his 2025 NFL All-Rookie Team and both of the edge rushers made it. Hooray for competent drafting!
Atlanta Falcons took Jalon Walker at No. 15 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft
It was no secret that the Falcons entered this year’s draft with need at edge rusher. They actually needed anyone that could get to the quarterback even if it was a punter. So, it wasn’t a surprise that they took Walker out of the University of Georgia when they made their first pick at 15.
Not including the last game of the season, Walker has 33 tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
“Walker was a tweener coming out of Georgia but has spent 90% of his snaps on the edge — and to great effect,” Solak writes. “His football IQ leaps off the film, as he regularly sees blocks developing fast enough to slip, shed and create havoc in the defensive backfield. Pound for pound, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Walker is tough to uproot and has more power as a pass rusher than expected.
“His ability to drop into coverage is also integral to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s pressure packages. Walker is a high-impact player for his dirty work in the margins.”
Atlanta Falcons selected James Pearce with the No. 26-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
The Falcons needed more pass rushing help this year even if Walker turned out to be a stud. Yes, they needed that much help getting pressure on the quarterback. So, they took a bit of a risk to get it.
The Falcons traded back up into the first round and took Pearce out of the University of Tennessee at No. 26. Most agreed on his talent, but he sounded like he could be a bit of a headache (which he still could be). Migraines aside, Solak likes his production on the field.
“Pearce is the sack artist he was billed to be in the leadup to the 2025 draft, leading all rookies with 8.5 sacks,” Solak writes. “His blistering 2.66-second time to pressure is ninth among all edges and third among all rookie edges, and he creates immediate opportunities for sacks with that wicked first step. Pearce is almost purely a pass-rush-down player at this point and struggles to hold the point of attack in the running game, so an offseason in the weight room is needed for him to become an every-down performer.”
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