After finishing 8-9 in their first full season under head coach Raheem Morris, the Atlanta Falcons have been awarded the No. 15 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The team has selected an offensive player in the first round of the last four drafts, but that’s likely to change this year.
The Falcons have solidified their offense behind Michael Penix Jr., Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Plus, they have bigger needs on defense with several players set to hit free agency in the offseason.
Atlanta must first hire a new defensive coordinator to work under Morris. The team fired Jimmy Lake over the weekend after the defense gave up 24.9 points and 345.2 yards per game in 2024 — ranking 23rd in the NFL in both categories.
Pro Football Network released a new 2025 NFL mock draft that has Atlanta upgrading its defensive front seven. With the No. 15 pick, PFN projects the Falcons to select Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker.
Some project Walker as a stand-up edge rusher in a base 3-4 system, but I like him better as an off-ball linebacker at the next level due to his being undersized off the edge. Whatever the case, he’s an athletic and aggressive defender with schematic versatility, a red-hot motor in pursuit, and three-down value due to how he can rush the passer and cover in space. — Jacob Infante, Pro Football Network
Walker is ranked 11th on Pro Football Focus’ big board and would be an interesting pick by Atlanta at No. 15. As highlighted above by Infante, Walker has a ton of versatility. In 2024, the Georgia standout played 311 snaps as an off-ball linebacker and 249 snaps along the defensive line.
The Falcons only have three draft picks in 2025 but general manager Terry Fontenot indicated the team would consider trading back for more picks. This year will be the first that Fontenot doesn’t have a top-10 pick to work with.