Terry Fontenot has gotten a lot right with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason, but there's one glaring red flag that he got wrong. He and Raheem Morris let linebacker Nate Landman walk in free agency this offseason, just for him to shine in his first season with the Los Angeles Rams.
After recording 110 total tackles and seven tackles for loss in 2023, Landman's numbers took a minor dip last season. However, he remained one of the more consistent contributors for Jimmy Lake's defense before falling victim to the change in defensive coordinator to Jeff Ulbrich.
That loss has become the Rams' gain, as the 26-year-old has been among the best linebackers in the NFL in 2025. He amassed 21 tackles and has either forced or recovered a fumble in every game this season—and his game-sealing forced fumble against the Texans in Week 1 led to him being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Nate Landman is making the Falcons regret letting him walk
The undrafted free agent in 2022 spent the first three seasons of his career with the Dirty Birds, before signing a one-year deal to reunite with Lake in Los Angeles. And as it stands, the Colorado product seems to be setting himself up for a massive payday this coming offseason.
It hasn’t just been splash plays. Landman’s reliability has traveled west with him. Not only did his forced fumble seal the victory in Week 1—he also amassed a season-high 10 tackles, which marked the second-highest single-game total of his career.
It was in training camp where he beat out Troy Reeder for the starting linebacker job, and has ran with the opportunity. Despite never being an elite coverage linebacker, his sideline-to-sideline instincts have turned heads in his second destination.
It's not all bad in Atlanta. His replacement, Divine Deablo has been a bright spot for the Falcons' defense after coming over from Las Vegas. But the thought of pairing Deablo with Landman is enough to make Falcons fans wince.
The Falcons' pass-rush is also much-improved, so a trio of Kaden Elliss, Deablo, and Landman would have terrorized the NFC—and this doesn't even account for the injured former second-round pick Troy Andersen.
Ulbrich's defense has been stupendous thus far and his transition towards youth and versatility has clearly been felt, but one can only imagine how much scarier the unit would be if the team retained Landman.