Falcons' James Pearce: Target of big trade-up by Atlanta
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The Falcons selected Pearce in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 26th overall.
Atlanta made an aggressive play to move back up into the first round and double-tap edge rushers by adding Pearce after selecting Jalon Walker at 15. Pass rush has long been an issue in Atlanta and the front office is prioritizing changing that in this draft. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Falcons sent their second-round pick and next year's first-round pick to the Rams to get this deal done. As for Pearce, the Tennessee product was considered the potential No.1 overall pick in this year's class coming into the season. It didn't quite work out that way as Pearce's sack production dropped from 10.0 in 2023 to 7.5 in 2024. He tested well at the combine with 4.47 speed at 6-foot-5, but he is light for a conventional 3-4 outside linebacker. Jalon Walker has similar strengths and weaknesses, so Atlanta is certainly targeting a particular archetype with these two selections.
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Falcons' Jalon Walker: Chosen by Falcons 15th overall
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The Falcons selected Walker in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 15th overall.
Walker (6-foot-1, 243 pounds) might be seen as a tweener between off-ball linebacker and a pass rusher from the edge, but the general belief is that the Georgia product can thrive in either or both capacities. Particularly with more unorthodox formations popping up across the league every year, there should be ways to get Walker in prime playmaking position even if it takes some novel approaches to get it done. It remains to be seen whether the Falcons cross-train Walker between the inside and outside linebacker positions, but that might be the plan given that they have some stopgap players at both positions as it is. Walker might therefore be at some risk of playing as a swing backup during his rookie year, but he should claim a three-down role in the Atlanta defense by 2026 at the latest.
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Falcons' DeMarcco Hellams: Full-go at voluntary workouts
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Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said last Friday that Hellams (ankle) will be a full participant at voluntary OTAs, Tori McElhaney of the team's official site reports.
Hellams missed the entire 2024 campaign due to a significant ankle sustained during the preseason, but he'll have a full offseason of health to get ready for the 2025 season. Atlanta's decision to sign Jordan Fuller to a one-year deal in free agency will likely relegate Hellams to a rotational or backup role on defense, especially if the Falcons also address the safety spot in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Falcons' Kevin King: Returning to Atlanta
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King re-signed with the Falcons on Friday, Terrin Waack of the team's official site reports.
In his first campaign with Atlanta last season, King tallied 10 tackles and two defensed passes over 15 games. He started just once and logged more snaps (159) on special teams than on defense (69). King will likely have a similar role this season since both A.J. Terrell and Mike Hughes are likely to retain their starting jobs at cornerback.
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Falcons' Dee Alford: Re-signs with Atlanta
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Alford re-signed with the Falcons on a one-year contract Monday, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports.
The Falcons opted not to tender Alford as a restricted rights free agent in March, which made the 27-year-old cornerback an unrestricted free agent. After testing the market, Alford has decided to return to Atlanta, where he made 11 starts last season, posting 11 passes defensed and 83 tackles (61 solo) in 16 appearances.
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Titans' Lorenzo Carter: Signs with Tennessee
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Carter signed with the Titans on Thursday, Jim Wyatt of the team's official site reports.
The outside linebacker played in 13 games, started 11 and missed four with a concussion with the Falcons in 2024, recording 32 tackles (23 solo) and a forced fumble. A third-round pick of the Giants in 2018, Carter played out his four-year rookie deal with New York before spending the last three seasons with Atlanta, starting 62 of the 96 games he appeared in and recording 21.5 sacks. The 29-year-old projects as a depth piece for the Titans in 2025, though his past starting experience could give him a chance to compete for a steady role this year, too.
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Rams' Nate Landman: Headed to Los Angeles
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Landman and the Rams agreed on a one-year contract Tuesday.
Landman will head to Los Angeles after spending the first three seasons of his career with the Falcons, most recently compiling 81 total tackles (39 solo), three forced fumbles and a pass defensed over 13 regular-season games in 2024. The linebacker will compete with Omar Speights, Tony Fields and Jaylen McCollough for a starting role in 2025.
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Falcons' Kentavius Street: Brought back by Atlanta
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The Falcons re-signed Street to a one-year deal Monday, Terrin Waack of the team's official site reports.
Street, a 2018 fourth-round pick from NC State, appeared in 13 games for the Falcons in 2024, tallying 15 total tackles across 267 defensive snaps. Now that he's re-upped with Atlanta, the 28-year-old is expected to serve as a depth piece on the team's interior defensive line.
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Falcons' Ta'Quon Graham: Back with Atlanta
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The Falcons re-signed Graham (pectoral) to a one-year deal Monday, Terrin Waack of the team's official site reports.
Graham missed the final seven games of the Falcons' 2024 campaign due to a pectoral injury, but his re-signing Monday suggests he's now recovered from the issue. The 26-year-old from Texas has served as one of Atlanta's top rotational defensive ends since entering the league in 2021, having recorded 84 total tackles, including 1.0 sacks, and one forced fumble over 39 appearances. With Graham staying in Atlanta, he's expected to play a similar role in 2025.
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Commanders' Eddie Goldman: Providing depth for Washington
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Goldman is in line to sign a one-year contract with the Commanders, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Goldman is primed to handle a depth role at defensive tackle, with Washington already having Daron Payne (knee), Javon Kinlaw and Jer'Zhan Newton. He suited up for all 17 regular-season games with the Falcons in 2024, playing a rotational role.
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Falcons' Mike Hughes: Remaining in Atlanta
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Hughes (shoulder) is slated to re-sign with the Falcons on a three-year, $18 million contract, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Hughes started all 15 of his regular-season appearances with Atlanta in 2024, recording a career-high 66 tackles (51 solo), plus six passes defensed. He prematurely exited the team's Week 18 finale against Carolina due to a shoulder injury, but there have been no indication that the issue will be anything to worry about by the start of offseason activities. Hughes figures to reprise a starting role opposite A.J. Terrell at outside corner.
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49ers' Richie Grant: Heading out to San Fran
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The 49ers will sign Grant to a one-year contract, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Grant played the majority of his snaps on special teams in 2024, occasionally rotating in at safety for the Falcons behind Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons. His competition for snaps at safety in San Francisco doesn't seem to be quite as formidable on paper, so he could be in line for an uptick in playing time on defense in 2025.
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Bears' Grady Jarrett: Finds new home immediately
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Jarrett and the Bears reached agreement Monday on a three-year contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Released by Atlanta earlier in the day, Jarrett waited only a few hours before agreeing to a contract that's reportedly worth $43.5 million, including $28.5 million guaranteed. He's long been one of the NFL's better interior pass rushers, but he had just 2.5 sacks last season after suffering an ACL tear in 2023. He did play all 17 games in 2024, and his peripheral pass-rush numbers (e.g. 12 QB hits) were more impressive than the lackluster sack total. The Bears apparently have high hopes for Jarrett in his age-32 season ahead.
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Grady Jarrett: Tenure in Atlanta at an end
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The Falcons are in line to release Jarrett, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Jarrett, a 2015 fifth-round pick, has played the entirety of his 10-year NFL career to date in Atlanta, making the team's decision to move on from the two-time Pro Bowler somewhat unexpected. The 31-year-old came back from an ACL tear suffered in 2023 to play all 17 regular-season games in 2024, racking up 53 tackles (30 solo), including 2.5 sacks. His release saves the Falcons roughly $12.1 million in cap space, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com.
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Falcons' Nate Landman: Hitting free agency
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Landman was not tendered as a restricted free agent by the Falcons on Thursday, meaning he will become an unrestricted free agent, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.
The former undrafted free agent started 23 of the 29 games he played in over the last two years, making 191 total tackles (105 solo). Landman also forced three fumbles last year for the second season in a row. The 26-year-old linebacker first signed with the Falcons in 2022, following his collegiate career at Colorado.
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Falcons' Dee Alford: Will be unrestricted free agent
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Atlanta will not tender Alford's contract, Daniel Flick of SI.com reports.
Alford is coming off a season in which he set a career high in tackles (83), though that may partially have been a function of his being less dominant in coverage than he was during his first two years as a pro. He'll be free to make a deal with any bidder when the legal tampering period begins on March 10.
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Falcons' Jessie Bates: Excellent again in 2024
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Bates recorded 102 tackles, including 1.0 sacks, along with 10 pass defenses (including four interceptions, one of which was a pick-six), four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery over 17 regular-season games.
Bates wasn't able to approach the career-high 132 stops he made in 2023, but he was still prolific as a tackler, notching his fifth career season with triple-digit stops. He also had two fewer interceptions than in the previous campaign, though he had twice as many pickoffs than anyone else on the Falcons and tied for 10th in the NFL in that category. For good measure, Bates recorded his second career pick-sick in Week 16 against the Giants and tied for fifth in the NFL with a career-best four forced fumbles. He's slated to be the centerpiece of Atlanta's secondary -- and an elite IDP option -- again in 2025, when he'll be in the third year of the four-year contract he inked in March of 2023.
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Falcons' Kaden Elliss: Posts career-high 151 stops in 2024
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Elliss ended the regular season with 151 tackles, including 5.0 sacks, along with three pass defenses (including an interception), one forced fumble and one recovered fumble over 17 games.
Elliss was both prolific and consistent during the campaign, recording double-digit tackles in 10 of his 17 contests. His 151 tackles tied for sixth-most in the NFL and surpassed his previous career-high mark, which he had established in 2023, by 29 stops. Elliss has emerged as one of the league's top run-stoppers in his two seasons with Atlanta, and he's expected to fill the same role with the team next year in what will be the final year of the three-year deal he signed in March of 2023.
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Falcons' James Smith-Williams: Season cut short by injury
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In 10 games in 2024, Smith-Williams (lower leg) recorded 24 tackles (12 solo) including 1.0 sacks.
Despite playing fewer games and fewer defensive snaps than in either season, Smith-Williams collected more tackles than he did in each of his last two campaigns. That he was more productive must have made it extra frustrating when he was knocked out of the last seven games of the year due to injuries. He's set to become an unrestricted free agent during the offseason.
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Falcons' Zach Harrison: Role cut down in 2024
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In 17 games in 2024, Harrison recorded 26 tackles (six solo), including 1.0 sacks, along with two passes defensed.
Despite playing one more game, Harrison actually played fewer total defensive snaps in 2024 (263) than he did in his rookie season in 2023 (323). At least part of that difference could be explained by Atlanta's shift from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defensive scheme under new defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake. If Lake retains the position, Harrison could be in line for a similar snap share in 2025.
