The Falcoholic
After adding two first round picks to the group, the Falcons suddenly have real upside here.
The Atlanta Falcons have struggled to get much of note out of their outside linebacker/EDGE group for far too long, which we’ve hashed, re-hashed, and re-re-hashed over the course of those years. That led to one of the most eyebrow-raising first rounds in Falcons draft history earlier this spring, with the team drafting Georgia pass rusher Jalon Walker and trading back up to grab Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr.
The net effect is that this group, minus grizzled veteran signing Leonard Floyd, is quite young and brimming with real potential. Arnold Ebiketie has put together a couple of strong second halfs and will be seeking more in a contract year, Walker and Pearce are itching to make their impact at the NFL level, and Bralen Trice is coming back from injury and hoping to make up for a lost rookie season. Even Khalid Kareem and DeAngelo Malone, the team’s depth options, are reasonably young players.
That all adds up to a promising position group, one that will hope to have Walker and Pearce as long-term options, Ebiketie as a potential and effective long-term third wheel if he plays well enough to prompt a re-sign, enough depth to weather any trials this season. While there’s a lot more potential than production here, it’s difficult not to get excited about the team’s investments in this group and what their young would-be stars might do in 2025.
Here’s a post-draft breakdown of the the outside linebacker group.
Jalon Walker, Arnold Ebiketie, Leonard Floyd
Walker is set to be a key piece of this defense, even if we’re not entirely sure how often he’ll be coming off the EDGE versus playing off-ball linebacker. I’d lean toward a majority of his snaps landing here, given the team’s need for a relentless, capable pass rushing presence off the edge, and so I’m penciling him in as one of the team’s most-utilized options. Watching Walker grow into the role the Falcons envision for him, whatever it might be, should be one of the more enjoyable subplots of the 2025 season.
The other two options are more proven. Ebiketie was lights out at times in the second half of the 2024 season, but has only really put together effective stretches rather than a wholly effective campaign to this point in his career. He’s still the most seasoned and useful incumbent on this roster, capable of picking up at least six sacks and playing decent enough run defense to stay on the field on all downs when necessary. There’s more potential here—we can daydream about what might happen if Ebiketie came out of the gate hot in 2025—but the floor is reasonably high and Ebiketie has much to prove in a contract year.
Floyd, meanwhile, is a known commodity who knows Raheem Morris well after working with him when both were with the Rams. His best days are behind...
