It's been an up-and-down start to Jalon Walker's NFL career, but that all changed in Week 9. In the Atlanta Falcons' 24-23 loss to the Patriots, the No. 15 pick in the 2025 Draft recorded the first multi-sack game of his career, as his impressive outing saw him be named the NFL's Rookie of the Week.
What makes the accomplishment even more impressive is that it came in Walker's return to the lineup. The former Georgia standout missed Weeks 7 and 8 due to a knee injury, and it was clear that Jeff Ulbrich's defense missed his versatility with Divine Deablo now on injured reserve.
In Week 9, the 21-year-old amassed five total tackles, two tackles for loss, the aforementioned two sacks, and a forced fumble on Drake Maye that set up a Drake London touchdown just before halftime. It was the performance fans have been waiting to see, and it looks like a sign of what's to come.
Jalon Walker finally delivers the performance Falcons fans have been waiting for
According to Pro Football Focus, Walker's 79.1 pass rush grade in Week 9 ranked eighth among all edge rushers. However, the reigning Butkus Award winner struggled in containing New England tight end Hunter Henry, as he was the defender in coverage on the 17-yard pass that iced the game.
As his 28.9 coverage grade would tell you, Walker's impressive performance was not flawless by any means, but it was promising. After Leonard Floyd went down with a hamstring injury, the first-round rookie played a season-high 44 snaps, including 18 snaps in pass rush and seven in coverage.
To make matters even better, when he strip sacked Maye before halftime, it was recovered by James Pearce Jr.—Atlanta's other first-round rookie. While it turned out to be all for naught, fans can't help but come away from a disheartening defeat with some positive takeaways.
With that being said, the road to being named Defensive Rookie of the Year won't come easy, but the potential has beem flashed in spurts.
Giants pass-rusher Abdul Carter has been an absolute beast, while Dirty Birds standouts Pearce and Xavier Watts are other popular candidates. However, Browns rookies Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger figure to be the leaders in the pack at the midway point of the 2025 season.
Walker just forced his name to return to serious consideration, but he's going to need to string together more performances like this one if he wants to become a mainstay on the ballot. And that all starts in Week 10 against the red-hot Colts in Berlin on Sunday morning.