Atlanta Falcons Defensive Architect Pleased with Early Returns

The Atlanta Falcons struggled on the defensive side of the ball during the 2024 season. Atlanta generated little to no pass rush, recording just 31 sacks all season, the second lowest in the NFL. The secondary struggled as well, giving up the league’s highest catch rate last season.

General Manager Terry Fontenot did his best to address both issues this offseason. The Falcons added three new faces to their pass-rushing corps via free agency or the draft. Atlanta signed defensive end Leonard Floyd to a one-year $10 million in free agency. Jalon Walker, a linebacker out of Georgia, and James Pearce Jr, a defensive end out of Tennessee, were added through the draft, both selected in the first round. 

The secondary was also addressed. Atlanta drafted Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts in the third round and nickel back Billy Bowman in the fourth.

Atlanta has a lot of new faces competing for starting spots heading into the 2025 season, and Fontenot is confident in their abilities to force turnovers and hunt the ball.

“Very confident in the defense,” Fontonet said. “It kind of showed yesterday in practice. So, yesterday's practice was an example of the way they were on the ball. Mike Hughes had two punch-outs, and I mean legit punch-outs, the way he went after the ball. So now, you can praise the defense for being able to get after the ball and take it away and punch it out.”

Tenured veteran left tackle Jake Matthews, who’s gone against the best of the best edge rushers in the NFL, is excited for what he sees in Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. 

“They've got a lot of talent. You can see why they were drafted where they were,” Matthews said. “It's great for me too. It's fun coming out here and playing against really good players, seeing where you're at. Building this thing to the type of competition we're going to see every Sunday.”

Matthews said he’s especially seen the two rookies display speed and power. 

James Pearce Jr specifically had an impressive showing on Day 3 of training camp. On Sunday, Pearce had back-to-back impact-making plays; first by sealing the edge on a run play and then elevating on the next to knock down a Kirk Cousins pass attempt. 

"He doesn't need a whole lot of speed to get him going," Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said of Pearce last spring. "We can put him on the edge and let him rip it, and he's going to be a problem. I'm super excited [for] what he'll become."

Atlanta has added a lot on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, and is hopeful it pans out and leads to the team's first postseason berth since 2017.