Falcons hope to have a bit more ‘edge’ to their defense in 2025

The Falcons wanted to add to their edge rush this spring. And in doing so, they hope they’ve added a different kind of edge, too.

When James Pearce Jr. sparked a skirmish last weekend, it drew attention to his feistiness. That trait was noted during the predraft process, though it was overshadowed by alleged concerns around the player. Yet, Pearce might bring exactly what the Falcons sought.

He and fellow first-round edge rusher Jalon Walker, a rookie from Georgia who’s been sidelined, both play with a mean streak that’s been a bit too foreign to recent Falcons defenses. The team wanted to inject that unit with attitude.

“It was part of our draft,” coach Raheem Morris said. “We wanted to add a little edge to our football team. We wanted to add a little edge to our rush. A lot of the great football players I’ve been around, they have edge. They have edge when they’re rushing the passer. You’re talking about, whether it’s Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice; any of these guys that can rush the passer, they have a little bit of an edge.

“Part of our whole draft, part of our philosophy, part of our practice, part of us becoming the team we want to be is acquiring players with some natural edge.”

The Falcons have fielded soft defenses throughout their seven-year playoff drought. There have been individual standouts — Grady Jarrett and Jessie Bates III chief among them — but the team has lacked the killer mentality that’s synonymous with the NFL’s top-tier units.

There might not be a sweeping change in 2025. There’s probably only so much rookie defenders can do. But perhaps there will be real progress toward a new mentality.

Pearce and Walker will need to lead the way — both in tone-setting and in production.

The Falcons finished with a measly 31 sacks last season — second to last in the NFL — and the pass rush has been ineffective for far too long. It’s remained the root of the franchise’s struggles.

Morris, asked the biggest difference he’s already identified in his team from a year ago, immediately cited a tougher mentality.

“Probably a little bit of the edge,” he said. “You can already see it. You can already feel it in the weight room, the meeting rooms. The excitement, the enthusiasm. You can feel it from the coaching staff, particularly the new coaching staff that’s been involved with everything. It goes to the field.”

He continued, saying some edgy elements can initially seem a little corny, but they’ll eventually resonate.

“It becomes authentic,” Morris said. “It becomes who they are, becomes what they become. It becomes like contagious throughout the building. And you’ve got to love it. I can already feel that edge.”

A player either has that ferocity in him or he doesn’t. The team’s emphasis was identifying that trait; an under-the-surface savage that emerges on game days. Xavier Watts, a safety who the team drafted from Notre Dame, seems to have that same mentality and has flashed it as he’s competed for a starting role.

But Pearce has been the standout. Whether he’s swatting passes thanks to his massive 6-foot-5 frame, exploding around the edge with athletic ease or starting wars with his words, he’s lived up to the first-round billing. And the Falcons desperately need him to hit.

“He’s got an edge to him, and I love that about him,” veteran linebacker Kaden Elliss said. “(Edge) is important; you’ve got to have it. This is football. It’s about physicality. It’s about dominating the trenches. You see who won the Super Bowl last year (the Eagles) and how they did it. It was in the trenches. That’s the engine of the team. That’s what makes it go. … Those big, strong edgy guys, that’s what wins you championships.”

Time will tell whether this Falcons’ defense is truly improved. But they’ve seemingly acquired the right players to begin shifting the mindset where it needs to be.