Atlanta Falcons' Biggest Remaining Question Revealed by The Athletic

As teams wait for the end of summer break, the Atlanta Falcons find themselves in a place of relative calm. Atlanta put in a lot of work this offseason to improve their defense, and while general manager Terry Fontenot is always trying to find ways to improve the team, most of the work is done. 

With OTAs in the rearview mirror, all attention focuses on training camp and the ensuing position battles and fights for roster spots. While no one truly knows the outcomes, whether preferred or otherwise, what we do know is that there is increased competition across multiple positions, most visibly, edge rusher. 

Now it’s time for the rubber to hit the road and find out if the Falcons’ bevy of moves pay off. The Athletic believes the pass rush remains the biggest question facing Atlanta heading into 2025. How much will the new faces at edge improve the team?   

"The Falcons drafted edge rushers Jalon Walker (No. 15) and James Pearce Jr. (No. 26) in the first round in April, and they also will be getting their first contribution from last year’s third-round pick, outside linebacker Bralen Trice, who missed 2024 with an injury,” wrote Josh Kendall on The Athletic. 

 “They are counting on one of those players, or some combination of all three, boosting what is historically one of the league’s worst pass rushes. Atlanta finished 31st in sacks last year with 31 and is the only team in the NFL with fewer than 300 sacks over the last 10 years."

Averaging less than 30 sacks a year in the pass-happy NFL blows the mind. Worse, why did it take so long to address such an obvious need? By taking two edge rushers in the first round in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Falcons doubled the number of front-seven players they’ve taken in the first round since 2015. 

The Falcons took edge rusher Takk McKinley No. 26 overall in 2017. McKinley and cornerback A.J. Terrell (2020) are the only defensive players the Falcons drafted in the first round in the previous nine drafts. The last defensive tackle the Falcons drafted in the first was Peria Jerry in 2009.

It was a long time coming. 

The effectiveness of Walker and Pearce will go a long way towards improving a defense that has nowhere to go but up after 2024. The bar was set so low last season that Walker and Pearce will be an immediate help getting after the quarterback.

How much help? That’s the biggest question for the Falcons heading into 2025.