This week has hardly gone as planned for the Atlanta Falcons, especially on the defensive side of the football. First, Jalon Walker was carted off the field during Tuesday's practice and ultimately suffered a season-ending ACL tear, and then they've been without Jessie Bates for most of the last week.
One of the NFL's stronger defenses is as depleted as it gets right now. However, for all of the major losses the Falcons have endured this week, they also suffered some good fortune. Jeff Ulbrich's defense set to get back important defensive players who they haven't seen take the field all summer.
Fourth-year defensive tackle Zach Harrison started training camp on the active/NFI list, but according to beat reporter Will McFadden, Atlanta is reportedly activating him after missing the first eight practices of camp. And the first time we got to see him on the field was during the Falcons' "Saturday Night Lights" practice in Sugar Hill last night.
Zach Harrison will be activated off of the active/non-football injury list
Harrison was on the active/NFI list while he continued to rehab a season-ending knee injury that stripped him of the final 10 games of 2025. However, in the seven games he did appear in, he was in the midst of a breakout season, as he logged 4.5 sacks across that span as one of Atlanta's best DL. And it started to become clear in the last few days that he was nearing a return.
As far as injury news goes, Falcons fans really needed this. The interior of the defensive line was already one of the weakest parts of this Dirty Birds roster, and Harrison's activation should certainly help upgrade that--especially since he's bound to take another step forward entering a contract year.
Harrison is again set to be one of Atlanta's starting defensive tackles alongside Brandon Dorlus in 2026, with Da'Shawn Hand, Maason Smith, La'Cale London, and several others rotating in. Despite losing David Onyemata and Ruke Orhororo, the revamped DT room should improve against the run.
The best part about the activation and clearance of the 24-year-old is that it'll allow Ulbrich and DL coach Nate Ollie to be more creative in how they'll utilize the defensive line, especially with Walker out. Dorlus has already been getting work with the edge rushers, and now they're less thin at DT.
Here's the thing: like Dorlus, the 2023 third-round pick lined up off the edge in college. Across his final two seasons at Ohio State, he combined for 16 TFLs and 7.5 sacks, but at 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, the Falcons opted to kick him inside--but his size makes him better-suited to be a full-time edge rusher.
Now that Zach Harrison has been activated, the Falcons have the luxury of moving him or Brandon Dorlus back to the exterior. But the real good news is that through that all of the injury concerns with Jalon Walker and Jessie Bates, his return will be a major boost to a defense in dire need of one.
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