It's still mind-boggling to me how Jimmy Lake was sitting on Pandora's Box yet never decided to open it. Brandon Dorlus hardly saw the field in his rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons, but once Jeff Ulbrich took over as defensive coordinator, he unlocked the wild card his predecessor never could.
Not only was Dorlus fully healthy in 2025, he carved out a legit role and we finally got to see the level of upside he could offer a defense, especially with a competent play-caller. He enjoyed a breakout season in Year 2, as his 8.5 sacks last year were second on the Falcons only behind James Pearce Jr.
As if you needed any more proof Ulbrich's defense was leaps and bounds better than the atrocity that Lake ran with, Dorlus' breakout should be the icing on the cake. He's turned himself into one of the most important players on Atlanta's defense, and his growth is only bound to continue in 2026.
Brandon Dorlus will keep growing as the rest of the Falcons' defense does
While going over early breakout candidates for every NFL team in 2026, ESPN's Ben Solak gave the third-year defensive tackle his flowers for what he accomplished last season-- but he also made sure to affirm that as long as Ulbrich is calling plays for the Falcons, Dorlus' growth should be linear.
"The lightbulb is coming on for Dorlus, and I'm loving it," Solak wrote. "He had 8.5 sacks last season, seven of which came in the back half. .. Dorlus is still more tweener than he is versatile, but 2025 was a clear realization of the vision we never got to see in 2024. Continuity in coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's defense will be big for his continued growth."
Solak noted that of his 8.5 sacks, seven of them came in the back half of last season, so a full offseason in a starting role should benefit him. But he also made sure to remind Falcons fans that Dorlus was an edge-rusher in college who bulked up to play the interior after being drafted in 2024.
And while many of his sacks came in clean-up with Pearce and Jalon Walker, having a young DT play the clean-up role certainly helped the Dirty Birds. The pass-rush recorded a franchise-record 57 sacks last year, and that was because of his effectiveness as a looper or crasher in blitz packages.
But that's not what makes him their wild card. The Oregon product is set to take on an even larger role in 2026 in the wake of Ruke Orhorhoro and David Onyemata's departures, so he'll be more of an every-down DT this year-- and that means that Atlanta is gonna need more synergy from the D-Line.
Compared to having to adjust a new system this time last summer, another offseason of continuity with Ulbrich and DL coach Nate Ollie will be beneficial to the young defensive lineman. And ensuring the momentum we saw at the end of last season translates into 2026 will be a test of his growth.
While Brandon Dorlus is still a bit of a tweener, as long builds on last season in 2026, the Falcons' defense will have a chance to be even more dominant than it was in 2025. And if that happens as expected, it could trigger a ripple effect that'll make him the spark to end a long playoff drought.
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