While the Jets carried the curse of John Abraham at edge rusher for over a decade, the Falcons also struggled mightily to replace the since-retired pass rusher. Despite first-round picks, notable free agency additions and a 2024 trade, Atlanta has come up empty in its search for consistent EDGE presences.
Abraham, whom Atlanta acquired in a three-team trade in 2006, signed with the Cardinals in 2013. The Falcons have sputtered in their attempts to locate edges since. Free agency additions (Osi Umenyiora, Dwight Freeney, Bruce Irvin, Dante Fowler, Bud Dupree) and a Matt Judon trade either provided stopgaps or ended up misfiring, while first-rounders Vic Beasley (2015) and Takk McKinley (2017) did not become long-term answers. Falcons have produced one double-digit sack season (Beasley’s outlier 2016) since Abraham’s 2013 exit.
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This alarming trend heavily influenced Atlanta’s 2025 draft. The team had attempted to trade up for Laiatu Latu after its surprising Michael Penix Jr. pick last year, but no deal emerged. The Falcons did find a taker this year, sending their 2026 first-rounder to the Rams in a package that secured them James Pearce Jr. at No. 26. This came after Atlanta chose Jalon Walker at No. 15. The duo represents the biggest swing the Falcons have taken to stop this pass-rushing drought since Abraham’s Cardinals defection.
Although the Falcons have drawn criticism for trading their 2026 first to move into the late first round, they did so because they placed a high value on Pearce. The Tennessee edge presence would have been Atlanta’s No. 15 pick had Walker not been available, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer.
The Falcons did not expect Walker to be there at 15, leading to the Georgia hybrid linebacker being the choice. Walker had been linked to a few teams in the top 10 — from the Saints to the Panthesr to the Jets to even the Patriots at No. 4. Falcons GM Terry Fontenot said the team would have been “more than comfortable” taking Pearce at 15, per ESPN.com’s Marc Raimondi. Fontenot noted Pearce being off the board would have caused the Falcons to stand down, but they will be without their 2026 first-rounder because of a high grade on Pearce.
Even as Grady Jarrett returned from his ACL tear to team with Judon, the Falcons ranked 31st in pressure rate last season. Pearce, who registered 17.5 sacks over his final two Tennessee seasons and clocked a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, will join Walker and free agency addition Leonard Floyd in a beefed-up Falcons pass rush. Pearce had come up as a Falcons target at 15 during draft week. The team hosted him on a “30” visit as well.
It will be interesting to see how the Falcons use Walker, Pearce and Floyd. Walker’s work as an off-ball linebacker at Georgia creates some possibilities for the team to use all three together, but Floyd is a 49ers cap casualty on a one-year, $10MM deal. Walker and Pearce are in place to be Atlanta’s hopeful long-term answers to one of the NFL’s longest-running problems.
That still doesn’t make it a good idea to trade a future first round pick to move up from 46 to 26.
Maybe depends if the gamble pays off and depends where the pick is next year.
Bad process is still bad process. Yeah, if he turns out to be an all-pro player, great. But what are the odds he’s a full first round pick better than guys they could have had at 46, like Nic Scourton or Landon Jackson? Especially when Pearce is a guy who may well have fallen out of the first round on concerns about makeup and being a profile of player that has a narrower path to success. And I say that as someone who really likes his upside.
If Jalen Walker fell to the 20s and the Cowboys, 49ers, Jets, etc. made the same trade the Falcons did would it have been a good move then?
Trading a first round pick to move up from 46 to 26 is bad process, especially for a team that’s unlikely to be drafting at the very end of the first round next year. I don’t think Jalon Walker is some sure thing superstar either.
This is exactly what I thought was the plan until Jalon Walker fell in their laps….makes sense now.
It’s a bold strategy but it’s better than trading RD3 pick for Matt Judon I guess. If they hit on both, it’ll be a huge franchise changing type decision. I liked Pearce more than Walker. I’m not sure Walker has the size to be an effective pass rusher at the next level. If they hit on Penix too it’s a great way to be competitive with all 3 rookie deals, pending they all pan out of course.
Now about Kyle Pitts thats another story for another day.