All summer long, the Atlanta Falcons have kicked the tires on possibly moving star defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus back to the outside. He was an edge rusher in college whom Atlanta moved inside when they drafted him, but they're doing more than just exploring a possible position change now.
Given both Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. are on the shelf and the Falcons have just four edge rushers on their active roster, they have big plans in store for Dorlus in 2026. During training camp, Dorlus worked with the edge rushers, which felt like a smoking gun about their faith in this DT room.
And now we're starting to see just how big those plans are. When the Falcons released their initial Week 1 depth chart for Sunday's matchup against the Steelers, the third-year DL was listed as a starting edge rusher. (after being listed as a DT all summer), confirming the position change we all expected is coming--and there are some ripple effects.
With Brandon Dorlus no longer inhabiting one of the starting defensive tackle spots, it opened the door for someone like Gervon Dexter Sr. or Da'Shawn Hand to start next to Maason Smith on the interior--and the initial depth chart confirmed that person will be ex-breakout star LaCale London.
La'Cale London could be in for a big 2026 season with the Atlanta Falcons
London appeared in 13 games, making five starts for the Dirty Birds in 2025--and he was impressive in those games. The vet recorded a career-high five sacks, including four in the final seven games, helping to establish himself as a valuable rotational player for a DT room that needs contributors.
The 29-year-old was a career journeyman who basically had no NFL future before last season, and now the Falcons are choosing to rely on him. They waived Zach Harrison, Hand just came back from injury, and they quite literally just traded for Dexter, but having Dorlus at EDGE will pave the way for London to do damage.
Yes, Atlanta will rotate a lot on the defensive line--especially at defensive tackle-- but it's telling that he'll be the first man rotating in given all of the changes this new regime made at DT. You'd think Ian Cunningham would want one of the guys he brought in--Dexter or Hand--to start, but clearly not.
La"Cale London is someone who proved himself as a worthy developmental project for the Atlanta Falcons, and now that Brandon Dorlus will spend more time off the edge, it'll offer him more of an opportunity to continue his breakout and impress--and a Steelers OL that just traded Broderick Jones is an advantageous matchup for him to continue dazzling.
Add us as a preferred source on Google