The Atlanta Falcons' defensive line is reeling after some devastating injury news. After exiting the season opener after playing just seven snaps, Da'Shawn Hand suffered a season-ending quad injury that'll require surgery, which means the free-agent pickup will not be Atlanta's new David Onyemata.
Hand's injury leaves a major hole in the Falcons' defensive tackle room, and while the room is much better than it was, it's imperative they find someone they can trust to replace him. The good news here is that Jeff Ulbrich's defense should already have their insurance plan in place: Zach Harrison.
Remember Harrison? The former third-round pick entering a contract year who the Falcons surprisingly waived following roster cuts? Yeah, well he's still here, and now that he ended up back on the practice squad, this injury offered the perfect chance to elevate him back to the active roster or call him up on gameday.
Expect the Falcons to elevate Zach Harrison after Da'Shawn Hand's injury
Once the Falcons officially move Hand to IR, they'll pick up a second opening on the active roster-- and elevating Zach Harrison makes too much sense. The 25-year-old is coming off of a breakout year in which he recorded 4.5 sacks in seven games of 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury.
The defensive tackle room is currently down to Gervon Dexter Sr., LaCale London, Maason Smith, and Brandon Dorlus (if you want to count him as a DT), so they could use another body. And given keeping Harrison on the practice squad was never going to be a permanent arrangement, and thankfully he wasn't poached off the practice squad before the time of need came to be.
Talent has never been the issue with the former Ohio State standout: health is. Ian Cunningham himself admitted that waiving him was a "gut punch", and Nate Ollie said that he does all of the right things, but needs to stay healthy. Clearly even after getting cut he stayed in the team's good graces.
Given Hand's biggest strength is in run defense, it makes a particular amount of sense to replace him with Harrison. The fourth-year DT was one of the better run defenders the Dirty Birds had last season and has proven to be a quality rotational defensive tackle, so why not turn to the youngster you know,
Since undrafted rookie Carlos Allen Jr. was released off the practice squad. Harrison and Zacch Pickens are the only defensive tackles on the P-Squad. And since the former has been here longer and is more familiar with this system, I'd venture he'll get called up and his time on the practice squad was to give him a chance to get a little healthier before making his season debut.
The Atlanta Falcons need to elevate Zach Harrison before his release blows up in thier face like Tyler Goodson's did, and since Da'Shawn Hand's injury has left them with a hole at DT, the path forward should feel incredibly obvious.
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