Christian Harris looked like a pretty safe bet to start for the Atlanta Falcons when the offseason began. That doesn't look nearly as certain anymore.
The Falcons signed Harris to help replace Kaden Elliss, and he spent most of the offseason working alongside Divine Deablo with the first team defense. As recently as June, Harris was still the clear favorite to win the job.
Then Kendal Daniels started making his case. The fourth round rookie has pushed his way up the depth chart throughout training camp and the preseason, and Atlanta now has him listed as the starter next to Deablo heading into Week 1.
That puts Harris in a pretty interesting spot. He hasn't suddenly become a bad player. The Falcons simply have a rookie they clearly want to see on the field. And Daniels isn't the only young linebacker making things more difficult.
The Atlanta Falcons don't have the same role planned for Christian Harris
The Falcons knew they had some interesting options at linebacker when they drafted Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. during the 2026 NFL Draft.
Christian Harris was supposed to have the experience advantage. He had already played 46 games and started 27 of them before joining Atlanta. The Falcons also specifically brought him in after losing Elliss, giving him a pretty obvious path to a starting job.
For a while, that's exactly how things looked. Atlanta's own offseason reporting had Harris as the leading candidate to play next to Deablo. The team also noted that Daniels and Perkins could push for roles as they developed.
Daniels apparently developed faster than expected. Now he's the guy sitting next to Deablo on the depth chart. There is one important part of this situation that shouldn't get lost. Harris is still on the roster--just as the likely LB3. So he's one injury away from being thrust into that same role again.
In fact, the Falcons' current depth chart has him listed behind Deablo at one linebacker spot, with Perkins behind him. So this isn't a situation where Harris has completely fallen out of Atlanta's plans. It's more about how quickly his role has changed.
The 25-year-old has something the rookies don't: NFL experience. But Daniels has already made this a much more interesting competition than it looked like a few months ago.
The Falcons wanted young players to emerge this offseason. Daniels has done exactly that. The problem for Harris is that every time one of those young players earns more responsibility, there are fewer snaps available for him.
And heading into Week 1, his path to a major role in Atlanta is looking a lot less clear than it did when he arrived. And he may need to prove himself worthy of more snaps against the Steelers to not risk falling out of favor any more.
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