If you asked any Falcons fan before the season who the most important player on the Atlanta Falcons' defense is, a fair amount of people would have Divine Deablo. Deablo was the breakout star of the defense last season and looked primed to take another leap in 2026, but instead has regressed.
The 27-year-old was playing out of his mind before he was placed on IR due to an injury he could've played through, but hasn't come back from the injury the same player. He's good as a tackler, but has struggled in coverage, and hasn't exactly displayed an ability to stay healthy this season.
Deablo missed the Falcons' Week 7 upset win over the San Francisco 49ers due to a forearm injury suffered in Week 6, and while the 29-20 win was great for the team, it was the worst-case scenario for the veteran LB because it exposed him as someone who is expendable.
His absence opened the door for fourth-round rookie Kendal Daniels to wear the green dot, while sixth-round rookie Harold Perkins Jr. took on the second starting linebacker job--and they were both nothing short of tremendous.
Daniels logged a team-high 11 tackles (nine solo), a TFL, and was responsible for creating turnovers on the Falcons' final two drives of the game (an interception and a fumble recovery), and had a PBU. He came up clutch just a week after he was stretchered off the field with a neck injury, while Perkins amassed nine tackles, and a TFL in the victory.
And given they're both impressing, it's putting Deablo's future with the team under the microscope--and it seems unlikely he'll be wearing red and black next season.
The Atlanta Falcons should let Divine Deablo walk in free agency because of Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr.'s emergence
It goes to show you how fast things change in the NFL world, because his job was safe as can be entering the season. But now that Atlanta has two rookies blossoming into future stars, it makes them have less need for Divine Deablo since they should want to open up more snaps for the young guys.
What sense would it make for the Falcons to invest money in Deablo when have two quality starters in Daniels and Perkins on rookie deals? They have the money, but unless they can bring him back at a major discount, the Dirty Birds aren't going to bring him back at all, let alone sign him to an extension.
Let's remember Daniels and Perkins are just seven games into their rookie deals, so they have three-and-a-half more years of club control before the Dirty Birds have to think about signing them to a long-term extension. Meanwhile, Deablo could command close to $10 million a year on a new deal.
That's too steep of a figure for the Falcons to bite on, so they're better off just letting him walk and taking their 2028 comp pick. Part of why they drafted Daniels is because he's essentially a Deablo clone as an athletic safety-turned-LB, but it's now become clear he's his long-term successor now too.
Terry Fontenot, was the general mamnager who brought him to Atlanta, while Daniels and Perkins were both drafted by Ian Cunningham--and since they're both Day 3 picks, they'll cost less against the cap. So rather than debating about which of them to start, the answer should be both.
It's not like he's at any risk of being traded at the deadline, but in the long-term, the Falcons know they found gems in Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr., and that means that Divine Deablo has no future here since they found their linebacking duo of the future.
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