Atlanta Falcons Rookies Need to Succeed Right Away According to NFL.com

The Atlanta Falcons entered the 2025 offseason with a pressing need to fix their defense, specifically their perennially poor pass rush.

No one can say general manager Terry Fontenot didn’t dive headfirst into finally addressing the defensive side of the ball with a pair of first-round edge rushers.

Unlike last season, when Michael Penix Jr. and the rest of his draft class were expected to deputize 30-plus-year-old veterans, the Falcons need their class of 2025 to hit the ground running.

NFL.com is in tight two-step alongside head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot about how the Falcons were right to seek an immediate remedy to their ills during the draft process.

Analyst Jeffri Chadiha has merged Falcons first-round edge duo, Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., onto the 9th and 10th spots on his rundown of rookies who most need to succeed in year one.

“These two are lumped together because both ended up as first-round picks on a team desperate for pass-rushing help,” wrote Chadiha on NFL.com. “The Falcons wanted both these players because defense was one of their major problems in 2024. Atlanta ranked 31st in the league in sacks last season, and they can ill-afford to be that inept at rushing the quarterback once again.

“The Falcons face too many tough quarterbacks this coming fall -- a group that includes Washington’s Jayden Daniels, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, and Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield (twice) -- and they can’t afford an eighth straight season without a playoff appearance.”

Chadiha is absolutely correct. The Falcons' commitment to construct a group that can come off the edge and get after the array of elite quarterbacks who litter their schedule in 2025 was necessary.

The Falcons redshirted their 2024 draft class. Penix Jr. was the headliner, but the Falcons traded up for defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro and took fellow defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus in the fourth round. Neither player was expected to contribute significantly in 2024, and neither player did.

The Falcons can’t afford to wait on Walker and Pearce. Their names will be fused together for good or for bad, and almost certainly in the immediate future.