The Falcons may still be sorting through the mess of a rough opening stretch, but one move from April is already looking like a clean win: Atlanta’s trade for Maason Smith.
Smith arrived from Jacksonville in exchange for Ruke Orhorhoro, and through three weeks he has been doing the kind of work that doesn’t always jump off the stat sheet but absolutely shows up on film. He’s logged just one tackle per week, yet his impact has been far bigger than that modest number suggests.
Against the Steelers, he was disruptive from the jump, including what would have been Atlanta’s first sack of the season before A.J. Terrell’s defensive holding wiped it away.
Veteran Za’Darius Smith eventually finished with two sacks in his Falcons debut, but Maason Smith helped set the tone.
His third-down deflection of Aaron Rodgers at the line was another example of the pressure he’s been creating snap after snap. Smith was consistently collapsing the pocket and clogging lanes in a Steelers run game that managed only 58 yards on 21 carries. Atlanta’s defense turned that pressure into stops, holding Pittsburgh to 3-of-13 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down, all while the offense had already handed the Steelers two turnovers and two missed kicks that handed over good field position.
The trade itself is starting to look pretty sharp for Atlanta. Ian Cunningham sent Orhorhoro, a 2024 second-round pick, to the Jaguars for Smith in April, flipping the former 35th overall pick for a defensive tackle taken 13 spots later at No. 48 in the same draft. Cunningham swapping out a failed Fontenot player for one of his own who’s producing is, at this point, looking like a major front-office win.
Smith’s size is part of the appeal, too. At 6-foot-5 ⅛ and 306 pounds, he fits Cunningham’s preference for more mass on the defensive line than Orhorhoro, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 294 pounds.
That bet is already paying off. Smith is starting in Atlanta, while Orhorhoro is currently with the third-stringers in Jacksonville.
The numbers back up the eye test. ESPN has Smith third among all defensive tackles with a 32% pass rush win rate, trailing only Christian Barmore and Jeffery Simmons.
The three-game sample is still small, but the early returns are hard to ignore, especially when Smith’s background suggests there’s more in the tank. A former five-star recruit and Freshman All-American at LSU, he’s just 23 years old.
His 2025 PUP designation with calf and ankle issues had already limited his snap count late in Jacksonville.
Since landing in Atlanta, Smith has been getting a steadier workload, and the Falcons’ interior has benefited from it. Through three weeks, the offseason additions have logged 106 snaps for Gervon Dexter Sr. and 109 for Smith inside.
The defensive line’s presence showed up again against Green Bay, with Atlanta placing three of the five players in NFL pass-rush wins. Smith tied for third with teammate Brandon Dorlus.
That kind of production makes Sunday’s trip to New Orleans worth watching closely. The Falcons are heading on the road against the 1-2 Saints, and the game carries added weight with the teams tied atop the NFC South. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is tied for second among NFL quarterbacks in sacks taken through three games with 10, which gives Atlanta’s size-and-power front another chance to make the trade look even better.
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For Atlanta fans, the wrinkle is that Cousins early work in Las Vegas gives the Falcons another familiar reference point in the league-wide quarterback debate. His command of that offense has been a reminder of what steady veteran play can look like when it is supported by cleaner decision-making and a more functional structure, and it naturally invites comparisons to where the Falcons have been and where they still want to get. The larger question now is whether this early form is real enough to stick, because the first few weeks have already shown how fast the conversation can change around a quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
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For Atlanta, the debate is less about one game than the bigger picture of what kind of impact Stefanski can make as the season settles in. Kubiaks quick start in Las Vegas is the kind of early momentum that naturally invites second-guessing, even if the Falcons have their own reason for optimism after a nationally televised victory. The first month has not settled anything, but it has made the coaching conversation more interesting than anyone expected this soon. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Suddenly Have A Real NFC South Chance Again
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Now the focus shifts to a matchup with New Orleans that feels like more than just another early-season game. For Atlanta, it is the kind of divisional test that can reshape the standings in a hurry and offer a clearer read on whether that rough opening was a temporary stumble or a deeper problem. [Read more 🡒]