Which Falcons rookie will be dubbed the steal of the draft?
Atlanta didn’t enter this year’s draft with a first-round pick after last year’s trade for James Pearce Jr., but there’s still real expectation that this rookie class can help right away. That matters for a team trying to end a postseason drought that stretches back to the 2017 season.
One of the names drawing the most attention is Branch, the Georgia Bulldogs product taken in the third round. He arrived in the class with a reputation as a high-floor receiver, the kind of player who should contribute immediately on special teams and in packages built around his burst and after-the-catch ability.
The questions on Branch have never been about his speed or his hands. The concern coming out of college centered on route running and whether he can grow into a more complete receiver at the NFL level. At Georgia, he piled up yards after the catch, but the lingering question is whether that was a matter of role or limitation.
His quarterbacks, though, are already sounding optimistic.
“He’s going to be a really good football player in the NFL,” Michael Penix Jr. said, via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. “You already know what he’s done in college, and it’s definitely carrying over. He can really play football.”
“You find [Branch], he’s open,” Tua Tagovailoa added. “He’s fast, and he can get away from guys. Great separation, great hands and great elusiveness when the ball is in his hands.”
That kind of praise matters for a Falcons receiver group that needs help beyond Drake London. Atlanta added Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus this offseason, but both are more like third- and fourth-option pieces than true No. 2 answers. Neither looks like a long-term centerpiece, which leaves Branch with a clear path to earn snaps and make his case as a rookie.
Then there’s Harold Perkins Jr., the LSU defender who slipped all the way to the sixth round and might end up making teams wonder how that happened so fast. The fall was striking for a player who looked like a future top-10 pick after his freshman season, before a torn ACL in his junior year and uncertainty about his NFL position pushed him down boards.
Perkins doesn’t fit neatly into one box. He’s not a classic edge rusher, and he’s not a natural every-down second-level linebacker either. He’s undersized for a full-time pass-rush job, but the bigger truth is simpler: he’s a football player.
At 225 pounds with 4.4 speed, Perkins put together a career at LSU that stacked up play after play - 220 tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, five interceptions and eight forced fumbles. That’s the kind of production and athletic profile that usually doesn’t last until Day 3.
He’s still very much a work in progress, but that’s also what makes him intriguing. Perkins is a versatile piece the Falcons can mold, and Jeff Ulbrich should have plenty of reasons to find ways to use him on passing downs, especially against mobile quarterbacks who can break the pocket. LSU used him as a sort of QB spy and pass rusher, and he showed how dangerous he can be when chasing ball carriers in space.
In Other News...
Kirk Cousins Adds Another Awkward Twist To His Post-Falcons Story
Kirk Cousins is barely out of Atlanta and already finding a new subplot in Las Vegas. At a Raiders training camp practice, the veteran quarterback got into a minor dustup with edge rusher Maxx Crosby, a moment that drew in coaches and teammates before it was calmed down. It was the kind of brief camp flare-up that usually fades quickly, but it added another odd note to Cousins transition after his release from the Falcons.
The bigger picture for Cousins is supposed to be a quieter one, with the Raiders expecting him to help mentor rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza this season. Instead, the exchange with Crosby gave his new stop an awkward early wrinkle, and it prompted head coach Klint Kubiak to keep both players out of the next practice as discipline. For Atlanta fans still tracking Cousins post-Falcons path, it was another reminder that his next chapter is already arriving with some unexpected noise. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Stefanski Is Already Changing The Falcons Culture
The Falcons are getting a different kind of training camp under Kevin Stefanski, and the early message has been about pace, contact and preparation. The new head coach has brought in more physically demanding practices, including live tackling periods, which is a noticeable shift from what players saw under Raheem Morris and Arthur Smith.
Stefanski is also expected to play starters in select preseason games, but with a controlled approach to their reps, another sign he wants the roster sharper when the games count. It is the kind of camp adjustment that can alter the tone of a building quickly, and it will be worth watching how the team responds as the preseason unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons May Have A James Pearce Jr. Problem To Open The Season
The early-season picture around Atlanta got a little murkier after Adam Schefter said on his podcast that several NFL players, including Falcons outside linebacker James Pearce Jr., are among the cases under review for possible discipline before the season begins. Schefter grouped Pearce Jr. with players such as Puka Nacua, Josh Jacobs, Jonathon Cooper, Alaric Jackson and Tyreek Hill, noting that more clarity is expected by the time the regular season arrives.
For the Falcons, the concern is less about whether the situation will linger and more about how long it might last once the league makes its call. Atlanta is reportedly bracing for a significant absence for Pearce Jr., and the uncertainty around the final ruling leaves the team planning for life without a player it expected to count on right away. [Read more 🡒]