Pro Football Writers of America announced their All-Rookie Team on Tuesday, and two building blocks for the Atlanta Falcons' future were included: Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. and safety Xavier Watts.
The rookie duo led their class in their position's most important stats—sacks for Pearce Jr. and interceptions for Watts.
They represent the future of this defense that will look to continue their momentum underreturning defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
Xavier Watts and James Pearce Jr. finally got the respect they deserve from PFWA
No Falcon is likely to get any recognition at the NFL Awards ceremony in February -- there isn't enough hype. So, Rookie of the Year teams are the next stop. Fortunately, the two stud rookies for Atlanta landed on PFWA's list, but nobody was objecting anyways.
Pearce Jr. was joined by Abdul Carter, Mason Graham, and Deone Walker on the defensive line and Watts was joined by Nick Emmanwori.
Watts is also the only rookie to also be named to PFWA's All-NFC team.
If we were going to nitpick this, you could make the argument that Jalon Walker should've been included. The former Georgia Bulldog had a fantastic first season, finishing with 5.5 sacks, 36 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in 15 games.
Those are on par with Carter, who finished with four sacks, 43 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in 17 games.
PFWA selected Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan as their 2025 Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year and Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger as their Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Schwesinger had a great year, but Pearce Jr. helped turn around one of the NFL's most chronically anemic position groups over the past decade. He led the Falcons in sacks -- a team that went from finishing 31st in sacks in 2024 with 31 to finishing second in 2025 with a team record 57.
Meanwhile, PFWA's 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year went to Rams edge rusher Jared Versen, who had 4.5 sacks...Unfortunately, the hype has gone to Schwesinger all season long.
Nevertheless, we know that the Falcons have four 2025 rookies to build their defense around. Pearce Jr. and Walker will lead the pass rush, Watts will track and intercept passes, and Billy Bowman Jr. will return with a vengeance after his season-ending Achilles injury.