The success of the Atlanta Falcons' pass-rush has been one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season, especially given how shorthanded they are. Through five weeks, they lead the NFL in pressures and pressure rate, so you have to give credit not just to the coaching staff, but the players who have stepped up.
Without Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr, the Falcons have seen Jeff Ulbrich and DL coach Nate Ollie get the most out of this personnel. And while Cameron Thomas is getting all of the attention, Samson Ebukam has been a revelation for the defensive line across these last couple of weeks.
After missing the Week 3 matchup with the Packers due to a hamstring injury suffered in Week 2, Ebukam has especially been a man reborn these last two weeks. He's recorded a sack and 5+ pressures in each of his last three games, including a five-pressure game in the loss to the Ravens.
According to PFF, Ebukam's 19 pressures are tied with George Karlaftis and Bradley Chubb for 12th-most in the NFL, while his 12 pressures across the last two weeks are seventh-most. So while the missed tackles aren't ideal, he's helped keep this pass-rush afloat and has proved he still has quality football left in the tank.
This is an opportunity not a lot of players get, and his journey makes this breakout make a lot more sense.
Samson Ebukam's journey led him to a career revival with the Falcons
To understand Ebukam's journey, we have to go all the way back to the beginning. He was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States at nine years old. He played defensive end, tight end, and fullback as a senior in high school, and his only D1 offers coming out were from Portland State and Eastern Washington--and he chose the latter.
After starting for three years with the Eagles, Ebukam produced 188 tackles, 44 TFLs, and 24 sacks, including 15 TFLs and nine sacks plus three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and eight QB hits en route to being an FCS All-American and First-Team All Big Sky in 2016, which was not enough to get him an invite to the NFL Combine.
However, he was still drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, he started out his career as a backup to Connor Barwin and Robert Quinn. He made a few starts at the end of the season, and flashed enough promise to enter his second season as a starter.
And with that, his production increased. Across his final two seasons in Los Angeles in 2019 and 2020, Ebukam appeared in every game and made 19 starts, where he combined for 9.0 sacks, eight TFLs, and 79 combined tackles, which helped him become coveted on the free agent market..
He then signed with the San Francisco 49ers, where he spent the next two seasons, before signing with the Indianapolis Colts--where he first overlapped with Ollie. And in their lone season together in 2023, he amassed a career-high 9.5 sacks and 11 TFLs after starting all 17 games in that season.
Unfortunately, that's when disaster struck. Ebukam tore his Achilles in training camp, where he missed all of 2024 and still looked to be affected by the injury in 2025. But The 31-year-old signed with the Falcons because of his connection to Ollie, and their reunion has him looking like his pre-injury self again--and Atlanta can't be more grateful.
The Dirty Birds brought him in because they needed rotational pass-rushers after losing both Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd, but Pearce's arrest (and subsequent suspension) thrust him into a larger role than expected. And then once Walker went down, he became a starter.
That is the embodiment of the next man up mentality. The Falcons signed Samson Ebukam not expecting anything even close to what they've received, and given all of the adversity he's faced, he wasn't gonna miss out on the chance to turn his career around in an expanded role.
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