The Falcons may have stumbled onto the best version of Jalon Walker by embracing what makes him different instead of forcing him into one lane.
Walker already looked like a difference-maker as a rookie in 2025, but Atlanta appears ready to squeeze even more out of him in Year 2. Jeff Ulbrich isn’t talking about parking him at linebacker or leaving him glued to the edge. The plan is to use him all over the place and let his versatility do the heavy lifting.
That makes plenty of sense for a defense that just lost Kaden Elliss in free agency. Atlanta now needs someone to handle the kind of do-everything job Elliss left behind when he headed to New Orleans, and Walker fits that mold better than anyone on the roster.
The 15th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft was a full-time edge rusher for the first time last season after starring at linebacker in college, where he won the Butkus Award. Even with that transition, he made an immediate impact. Walker posted an 81.3 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked sixth among 115 qualified edge rushers in the NFL.
That kind of production is why the Falcons are so eager to expand his role. Ulbrich has already said the team wants to lean more into Walker’s multifaceted skill set in Year 2, and that should make him one of the players tasked with replacing Elliss’ value.
Walker also helped fuel Atlanta’s franchise-record 57 sacks, but the appeal goes beyond pass-rush numbers. He has the athleticism to hold up off the ball too, which gives the Falcons a chance to move him around the formation and use him as a true chess piece.
Christian Harris is expected to be the primary partner next to Divine Deablo at linebacker, but Ulbrich can still tap into Walker’s range and physicality in different packages. The more he’s deployed that way, the more Atlanta can unlock.
It’s almost the opposite of how the New York Giants will use 2026 first-round pick Arvell Reese. Reese is expected to spend most of his snaps as an off-ball linebacker and only rush the edge in certain situations. Walker’s usage should tilt the other way: mostly off the edge, with off-ball snaps mixed in when the Falcons want to get creative.
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Two games are already locked in for 2026, including the Week 4 meeting with the Saints, and there is also a chance the station could pick up one more later in the year depending on how the schedule breaks. The arrangement also broadens Atlanta News Firsts sports reach beyond football, since it now includes all four major Atlanta pro teams, and there is already a path for more Falcons games to land there in 2027 if the team ends up on ESPN or NFL Network. [Read more 🡒]