NFL Draft countdown: Focus on Falcons' first-round pick at No. 15

While lacking in sacks, Stewart had 5.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and 33 hurries last season, per Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s defense allowed the 10th-most yards (345.2) and points (24.9) per game while recording the second-fewest sacks (31) in 2024. 

Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot should run to the podium if Stewart is available with the 15th pick.

CB Jahdae Barron | Texas

Sticking with defense, Tori McElhaney of Atlanta Falcons.com thinks Barron could be the missing piece for the team’s secondary.

"Barron is a player you can plug-and-play in multiple spots according to what you need from him at any given moment. That's a game-changer for this secondary, which already has the likes of A.J. Terrell, Jessie Bates III, (Mike) Hughes and Jordan Fuller.”

Barron appeared in 57 games in five seasons with Texas and had a career-high 67 tackles last season with five interceptions to help win the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in college football.

At 5-foot-11,195 pounds, Barron uses his size and instincts to beat would-be pass catchers and is someone NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein thinks can be “an early contributor as a slot defender with the potential to cross-train as a safety."

DE James Pearce Jr. | Tennessee

Count PFF’s Josh Liskiewitz among those feeling defensive about the Falcons first pick. Pearce had 19.5 sacks and 71 tackles in three years with Tennessee, where he was a two-time All-SEC selection. No player had more sacks for sacks for Tennessee from 2023-2024.

Liskiewitz notes that Pearce generated 59 pressures last season, six more than his 2023 total, despite rushing the passer only eight more times. PFF ranks Pearce as the third-best edge defender in the draft and 15th-best prospect overall.

At 6-foot-5 and 243 pounds, Pearce ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and posted a 31-inch vertical jump and 10-foot-3-inch broad jump at the NFL Scouting Combine, earning the fourth-best score (81) among edge rushers, per NextGenStats.