When the Atlanta Falcons gambled on upside to select LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. with the 215th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, most fans saw a sixth-round linebacker who could develop into a solid starter down the road.
Perkins sees that road differently: “My end goal wasn’t just to get to the league. My end goal is to get a gold jacket.”
Because the second thing Perkins said might be even more important to what the Falcons are building on defense: He told teams he was the most versatile player in the draft.
Harold Perkins Jr. is hoping that a gold jacket will be in his NFL future
Those two statements explain exactly why this pick makes so much sense in Atlanta.
AT LSU, Perkins played practically every position.
- Edge rusher
- Off-ball linebacker
- Spy
- Overhang/slot “Star” defender in a 4-2-5
- Blitzer from every angle imaginable
And the 6’1”, 220 pounds with a 4.45 forty (96th percentile for the position) linebacker has produced from every alignment too:
- 17 career sacks
- 35.5 tackles for loss
- 5 interceptions
- 10 pass breakups
- 220 tackles
DC Jeff Ulbrich doesn’t want static linebackers. He wants movable pieces. Defenders he can weaponize on passing downs. Players offenses can’t easily identify before the snap. Perkins is exactly that.
Before tearing his ACL in 2024, Perkins was widely viewed as one of the most electric defenders in college football and a future top pick.
The injury stalled momentum. The positional questions never went away. And he slid… and slid… and slid. Right into the Falcons’ lap at 215.
Notice the pattern in this Falcons draft
This is now the second linebacker the Atlanta Falcons have taken on Day 3 after selecting Kendal Daniels earlier. That’s not accidental.
They are loading the defense with hybrid athletes who don’t fit neatly into boxes cause Ulbrich doesn’t run a defense built on boxes. He runs one built on confusion, speed and pressure.
Perkins isn’t a traditional linebacker, and he’s not being asked to be a traditional linebacker. He’s being asked to be exactly what he is, and seeing Atlanta make a pick that is both a scheme fit and a star player should hype Falcons fans up.
Late round picks usually talk about earning a roster spot. Harold Perkins Jr. talked about Canton.
That’s the mindset of a player who was once a five star recruit, a Freshman All-American, an All-SEC playmaker, and the centerpiece of a major college defense before an injury changed the narrative.
He hasn’t forgotten who he was. And the Falcons clearly haven’t either.
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