Christian Harris entered the offseason looking like Atlanta’s safest answer at linebacker. By the time Week 1 arrives, that picture has changed quite a bit.
The Falcons brought Harris in to help fill the void left by Kaden Elliss, and for most of the spring he worked with the first-team defense alongside Divine Deablo. Even as late as June, Harris still looked like the favorite to win the job next to Deablo.
But Kendal Daniels kept climbing.
The fourth-round rookie made steady progress through training camp and the preseason, and Atlanta’s depth chart now lists him as the starter opposite Deablo heading into the opener. That leaves Harris in a much less certain spot than the one he seemed headed for earlier in the year.
This isn’t a case of Harris suddenly losing his ability. It’s more that the Falcons have a rookie they clearly want to get on the field. And Daniels isn’t the only young linebacker who has complicated Harris’ path.
Atlanta knew it had options when it drafted Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. in the 2026 NFL Draft. Harris was supposed to bring the edge in experience.
Before arriving in Atlanta, he had played in 46 games and started 27. The Falcons also targeted him after Elliss departed, giving him what looked like a straightforward route into the starting lineup.
For a while, that was exactly how it played out. Atlanta’s own offseason reporting had Harris as the leading candidate to line up next to Deablo, with Daniels and Perkins mentioned as players who could grow into larger roles over time.
Daniels apparently moved faster than expected. He’s now the name listed beside Deablo, while Harris sits behind him.
That said, Harris hasn’t disappeared from the picture. He’s still on the roster and appears to be the likely LB3, which means he’s one injury away from being pushed right back into a bigger role.
The Falcons’ current depth chart has Harris behind Deablo at one linebacker spot, with Perkins behind him. So this is less about Harris being cast aside and more about how quickly the competition has shifted around him.
At 25, Harris still has the thing the rookies don’t: NFL experience. But Daniels has turned what once looked like a straightforward battle into a much more open one. The Falcons wanted young players to rise this offseason, and Daniels has done exactly that.
For Harris, though, every snap earned by one of those young linebackers makes the available reps a little tighter. Heading into Week 1, his route to a significant role in Atlanta looks a lot murkier than it did when he first arrived. He may need to prove himself against the Steelers if he wants to avoid slipping any further out of the mix.
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