Success leads to complacency, and such is the case for the Atlanta Falcons pass rush.
Despite recording a franchise-record 57 sacks last year, the position received a slight overhaul this offseason. But it still needs to improve As of right now, it seems like the Falcons are content with how the depth chart looks.
That will prove to be a major mistake as there is not enough juice for a full 17-game season. The front office needs to get on the phone with one of the many remaining veteran pass rushers still available. They are a man short, and they cannot continue to ignore it.
Uncertainty everywhere leaves the Falcons with a massive pass-rush problem
It would shock me if this current group of pass rushers comes anywhere close to their 2025 output. And I am not the only one who thinks that. Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski released each teams' to-do list for the remainder of the offseason, and one of the Falcons' was to "find extra pass-rush help."
"The Falcons don't know what they'll get, if anything, from James Pearce Jr. this season," Sobleski wrote. If he isn't available for any amount of time, the organization should bring in a Jadeveon Clowney or Derek Barnett to provide more punch off the edge."
I fully agree.
Pearce returned to the team the other day, but anything could happen when it comes to a suspension. Even though his charges will be dropped pending his 12-month pre-trial diversion program, the NFL has the authority to hand down any punishment they deem appropriate.
That means the Falcons could be without their double-digit sack artist for a significant amount of time. And the edge group looks dire without him.
- Jalon Walker
- Samson Ebukam
- Azeez Ojulari
- Bralen Trice
- DeAngelo Malone
- Harold Perkins
You also have to get into the weeds of the position. Walker will fill Kaden Elliss' role, decreasing his snap count on the edge; Trice has yet to make his debut entering his third season; and Malone and Perkins will train as off-ball linebackers.
That leaves you with Ebukam and Ojulari as your true, full-time edge rushers -- they combined for two sacks all of last year. Overall, those six players combined for 7.5 sacks last year. The Falcons are one injury or a long-term suspension away from having a mess on their defense.
The good news is that there are plenty of quality players still on the open market. Sobleski mentioned Clowney and Barnett, but Joey Bosa, Denico Autry, Leonard Floyd, Von Miller, Marcus Davenport, and Kyle Van Noy are names they should be interested in.
Add one or two of those names and the future will look exponentially better. Because if the Falcons go into training camp banking on a breakout, that's pure negligence.
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