The Falcons are finally making the pass rush a priority, but it comes with a price

Atlanta invests two first round picks in fixing what ails them, a shocking outcome but one we have to admit we asked for.

How long have we been asking the Atlanta Falcons to address the pass rush? Ever since Vic Beasley’s brief shining moment faded? Since John Abraham was unceremoniously dumped by the franchise he excelled for? Since before even that?

Regardless of your accounting, it has been a long time, and every single offseason we begged this team to fix the problem. Over and over again, via free agency and the draft, the Falcons found short-term salves and whiffed on wishes, and the pass rush continued to suffer.

The team is done with half measures. After drafting Jalon Walker at 15 and trading up to 26 to grab James Pearce Jr., surrendering their 2026 first round pick in the process, the Falcons are attempting to fix this thing right now for 2025 and the future. They may have been pushed over the edge, as ESPN’s Bill Barnwell suggests.

But this is Raheem Morris, a defensive-minded head coach who coordinated a Super Bowl-winning defense, putting his stamp on this team and refusing to be dragged down by subpar play up front. The team sunk multiple picks into their front last year, moving up for Ruke Orhorhoro, adding Bralen Trice, and snagging Brandon Dorlus, and now have added two intriguing pass rushers in Walker (who can and may play both off-ball linebacker and on the edge) and Pearce. With Arnold Ebiketie, Leonard Floyd, and Kaden Elliss already on board as veteran presences capable of chasing quarterbacks, and Morris and Jeff Ulbrich reunited with a mandate to improve the defense, the Falcons clearly believe they’re going to have a capable, perhaps even potent pass rush for the first time in ages.

They paid a heavy price to do so. Even if the Falcons are great in 2025, a late first round pick still has significant value, particularly over the long haul. Given that this is still a team with obvious holes and some aging players at key positions at tackle, the loss of that pick could wind up really hurting Atlanta. Sinking two first round picks into the pass rush means other 2025 needs may end up neglected, with late round picks, undrafted free agents, and summer signings left to fill in gaps at center, cornerback, and depth spots. This is far from a risk-free decision for the Falcons.

But Morris and Terry Fontenot decided that risk was well worth the possibility of solving a defensive woe that had held this team back for a long time. As The Athletic’s Josh Kendall surmised Thursday night, they likely did so after being a bit stunned to find a player they liked at 15 still available at 26.

This has basically no resemblance to the Julio Jones trade in any aspect, but one element of that trade is true of the swap up for Pearce: If the player is spectacular, the price will be largely forgotten. The Falcons believe that Walker and Pearce are affordable defensive cornerstones set to usher in a new era for Atlanta, a team that is positioned to take a massive step forward with a loaded offense helmed by a player the brain trust here believes will be the franchise guy in Michael Penix. A better pass rush, they have told themselves, is the missing piece that will make the secondary look better and give the offense long-awaited help in making this squad something other than a one-dimensional also-ran. After seven years of losing records and over a decade of spotty pressure, what seems extreme also probably seems logical to the Falcons. It also tells you the Falcons have an outsized belief in the roster work they’ve already done, because these are selections that will probably pay off more down the line than in 2025, given how rookie pass rushers usually fare.

To say there are many assumptions baked into all of this is beyond obvious, because the Falcons are increasingly fueled by belief rather than any proven strategies, given their lack of winning ways. While the outcome is an unknown and our nerves will jangle as they should, this team has finally put some real muscle behind solving the most persistent problem they’ve faced for years. May they finally do so, amen.