4 Atlanta Falcons whose stock is on the rise after week one

4. Arnold Ebiketie

I don’t believe it will be long before Arnold Ebiketie finds himself in the starting lineup for the Atlanta Falcons. As a rotational edge rusher on Sunday Ebiketie consistently flashed wreaking havoc in the backfield and getting the first sack of his career. His combination of speed and power is what Atlanta has been so badly missing at the edge rusher position over the last two years.

Getting his first sack in week one as part of a four-sack performance against what is thought to be a good New Orleans team is a great indication of the season to come for the rookie.

Ebiketie may have finished the game with only one sack but those that watched the game closely know his impact and ability to win against blockers was more impressive than the stat sheet might indicate.

At best the Atlanta Falcons have a star pass rusher they have been searching for desperately for most of the last decade. At worst Atlanta has finally found a capable edge rusher who will help this defense take a step forward and not allow quarterbacks to simply sit in the pocket comfortably as they did all of last season against Atlanta.