Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris was at the podium last fall at the team's practice facility in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Like many of Morris' news conferences, the topic of the team's pass rush came up. The Falcons have struggled in that area for years -- with 30 fewer sacks than any other team in the NFL since 2019.
Morris, a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator, was asked about his pass-rush philosophy and how it still comes down to personnel.
"Really, you need two [guys]," Morris said.
In the draft last month, the Falcons went out and almost followed Morris' viewpoint to a tee: They drafted two edge rushers in the first round in Jalon Walker out of Georgia and Tennessee's James Pearce Jr.
On paper, it was an excellent first round. Both Walker and Pearce were considered two of the top linebacker/edge rusher types in the entire class. Sure, the Falcons had to give up a first-round pick next year to move up and take Pearce, but this is an area the team was desperate to fix. Atlanta hasn't had a player with double-digit sacks since 2017, which was also the last time the franchise made the playoffs.
The question remained, though, how the Falcons planned on using Walker and Pearce and how that ties in with returning edge players like Arnold Ebiketie and Bralen Trice and free-agent signee Leonard Floyd. Ebiketie began to break out at the end of last season with five sacks in his last six games. Trice, a top college pass rusher, missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL.
The simple answer to that question, according to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, is that the Falcons aren't going to get too cute with Walker and Pearce, at least not right away. Walker brings a lot of versatility -- he played mostly off the ball last season at Georgia. But Ulbrich envisions them both strictly as edge rushers right off the bat.
"We're going to be versatile and we're going to be multiple, but that's where they're going to start first and second down," said Ulbrich, who replaced the fired Jimmy Lake. "I want, especially Jalon, to really have an opportunity to just master playing on the edge. I think there's something there that's really special. Give him an opportunity just to have one home initially and become as good as he can at that.
"And then from a third-down perspective, we can get creative with him and that'll be part of his superpower. As far as James is concerned, he's going to be edge -- edge only -- and we'll go from there."
Walker has touted his own ability to be used in different ways, but with regards to mainly playing edge as a rookie, the No. 15 overall pick said, "I love that."
"Good with me and I'm excited to embrace that role of just being on the edge for this upcoming season, and of course there could be room to improve and expand roles like that," Walker said at rookie minicamp.
Falcons outside linebacker coach Jacquies Smith said Walker is like a "Swiss Army knife" with an ability to move around "like a chess piece" and drop back in coverage or blitz. Morris could not have praised Walker, the son of a former college coach who's currently coaching high school, any higher. The coach called Walker a "sharp man" with a "very high" football IQ.
"I hate to even talk about them this way, but it's hard not to," Morris said. "When you talk to guys like that -- and [third-round pick] Xavier Watts [is cut] a little bit from the same cloth -- you see future captains in these guys' makeup, and it's like the team will decide that and he'll decide that."
Pearce is going to be utilized to go after the quarterback. That fact is about as subtle as his 6-foot-5 frame with a 4.47-second 40-yard dash. Ulbrich said on paper Pearce might have been the best edge rusher in the draft, which is why Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot worked so aggressively to go get him at No. 26 after Walker surprisingly fell to Atlanta at No. 15.
Falcons fans will love to hear that Pearce believes the strip-sack is "the best play in football." The Falcons forced just six fumbles in 2024, the third-fewest in the league.
"I feel like you fill up a lot of stats [with] strip-sacks, especially if you pick up the fumble scoop and score," Pearce said.
Walker and Pearce are two intriguing ingredients to add to what Morris and Ulbrich hope is a much improved defense.
"You combine it, man, you put it in a pot of gumbo," Smith said, "and man, hopefully it tastes good."