The 2025 NFL Draft was a major turning point for the Atlanta Falcons. After years in defensive purgatory, especially off the edge, the Falcons managed to draft not one, but two pass-rushers who would ultimately play a pivotal role in their defensive turnaround in Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr.
The Falcons used four of their five draft picks in 2025 on the defensive side of the ball, including their first four picks. They even traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Rams in order to trade back into the first round for Pearce, which helped them land another cornerstone in third-round S Xavier Watts.
Both Pearce and Watts were Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists last season, but what if Atlanta wasn't as lucky? If this draft was done today, there is no world in which the Falcons are able to land all three of these guys, which is backed by a 2025 re-draft from Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport.
Falcons lose most of their defensive nucleus in 2025 NFL re-draft
With the 15th pick, Davenport had the Dirty Birds passing on Walker for Pearce. When you look at it from an on-field lens, this pick makes sense. The 23-year-old led all rookies with 10.5 sacks as their first pass-rusher to surpass 10 sacks since Vic Beasley in 2016 after racking up 10 from Week 10 on.
There is also the massive elephant in the room to consider with this. Unless you're living under a rock, we all know about Pearce's February arrest, and while the legal charges are on their way to being dropped, there is still the chance of NFL discipline, putting his immediate future in real jeopardy.
And the worst part? Davenport had Walker landing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Pick 19 and Watts going to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 22. So Walker would be a chess piece in Tampa facing the Falcons twice a year, while Watts would be a long-term Derwin James replacement in LA.
For all of the love Pearce has got, you can argue he was the least impactful of the three last year. He was a non-factor for most of 2025 who got hot down the stretch, while Watts tied for second in the NFL in picks and Walker was a top 10 edge rusher in run defense grade.
All three players were bona fide studs in 2025 and will only get better, so why double down on the one with the most red flags in a re-draft? Falcons fans would be devastated over a situation like this, but thankfully it's just a what-if and we are lucky to have landed three defensive cornerstones in 2025.
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