In February, Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said something about Kaden Elliss that felt dramatic at the time: “To replace Kaden… would take more than one human being.”
Two months later, Falcons quietly spent two Day 3 draft picks trying to do exactly that. Kendal Daniels out of Oklahoma at pick 134, and Harold Perkins Jr. from LSU at 215. They drafted two linebackers because they’re trying to rebuild a role that no single player on the roster can replicate after Elliss left in free agency.
And if you read the scouting reports on both rookies, it’s almost eerie how closely they mirror what Ulbrich described when talking about Elliss.
Kendal Daniels is a 6-foot-5 converted safety. He's a player who has played safety, linebacker, and a hybrid “Cheetah” role across four defensive coordinators. And a prospect Dane Brugler labeled a “tweener” who might be best in subnpackages and on special teams.
Jeff Ulbrich meant it when he said the Falcons wanted more than one person to replace Kaden Elliss
- Rare length and range (97th percentile height for LBs)
- Experience playing from depth and from the line
- Coverage ability against tight ends
- Special teams value
- Leadership and communication traits coaches rave about
Harold Perkins Jr. is the opposite body type and the same idea.
- 4.45 speed (96th percentile)
- Played edge rusher, spy, slot defender, WILL linebacker
- Dangerous blitzer in space
- Another Brugler “tweener”
- Another player without a clean NFL position
Put them together and you see the plan
Daniels looks like the stack + range + communicator portion. Perkins looks like the blitz + space + overhang chess piece portion. Individually, neither replaces Elliss. Together, they start to resemble the job. That’s not coincidence.
Back in February, Ulbrich explained what made Elliss irreplaceable: “He gave us this really unique flexibility… a line of scrimmage player who could run the defense.” That line reads today like a scouting report for both Daniels and Perkins.
But here’s the thing: The Falcons still have bodies at linebacker with Divine Deablo, Troy Andersen, and Jalon Walker (off-ball usage hinted). So they didn’t need two more by any means. And Atlanta already signed Channing Tindall and Christian Harris in free agency.
However, when players who fit the Kaden Elliss mold Ulbrich fell in love with fell to them, they couldn’t resist. Both Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. are long, fast, versatile, and difficult to define. Which is also exactly what made Elliss special in this scheme.
The Falcons didn’t double dip at linebacker because they lacked depth. They double dipped because they’re trying to reconstruct the most unique role in their defense, and they know it can’t be done with just one player.
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