It’s the time of the year when just about every franchise is excited about what’s to come. The pain of last season has faded, while new faces via free agency and the draft provide a ray of hope for even the most dysfunctional organizations.
The Falcons, for the most part, have been among those dysfunctional organizations since Terry Fontenot has taken over as GM, and while they are not out of the woods by any means, it does feel as if this draft class could be a turning point into contention. Atlanta has missed the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons, but they appear to have found their franchise quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., and the defense now has some juice after taking defenders with their first four picks in the draft.
Two of those selections came in the first round, with the Falcons taking Jalon Walker with the 15th pick and then doubling down on the EDGE position by trading back into the first round and taking James Pearce Jr. out of Tennessee. Those two guys now have a legitimate opportunity to break a much longer drought in Atlanta, one that’s lasted a remarkable 45 years.
The Falcons haven’t had a player win Defensive Rookie of the Year since 1980, when Al Richardson and Buddy Curry split the award. In fact, the Falcons have only had one player even receive a vote since 2000, which was Deion Jones back in 2016, who received just three votes, finishing behind Joey Bosa and Jalen Ramsey.
A primary reason for that is the Falcons haven’t spent too many high draft picks on defensive players over the last couple of decades, particularly pass rushers, which is the position that most often wins the award. Nobody has been worse at sacking the quarterback over the last 20 years. It’s been a problem that’s plagued the Falcons since Matt Ryan was a rookie, which is all the more reason Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. will have every opportunity to make an immediate impact.
If Jeff Ulbrich’s defense is going to find success this season, at least one of Jalon Walker or James Pearce Jr. will need to step up in a major way. Ideally, both hit the ground running — but pass rushers are notoriously slow to develop compared to other positions. Just look at Jared Verse, who recorded only 4.5 sacks last year and still ran away with Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
If either Walker or Pearce can notch five or more sacks in their rookie campaign, that would be a tremendous debut.
Now factor in the narrative potential: imagine a headline like “Jalon Walker leads Falcons in sacks as Atlanta ends postseason drought.” That kind of story, combined with even modest production, could be enough to finally break the Falcons’ 45-year drought without a Defensive Rookie of the Year.
