Eyeing a Year 2 leap, the Falcons have a ‘clear vision’ for Jalon Walker

When Kevin Stefanski took over as the Falcons’ head coach this spring, he needed no introduction to Jalon Walker.

Stefanski, then the coach of the Cleveland Browns, spent time studying and getting to know Walker ahead of the 2025 NFL draft. The Browns ultimately bypassed Walker at No. 5 overall, but 10 picks later, the Falcons didn’t.

Now, Stefanski gets the chance to be one of the architects behind Walker’s second-year leap. And the image of Walker that Stefanski formed last spring has come to life.

“Every team that spent time with him really came away with thinking, ‘This is a player that loves football — loves it and loves his teammates,’” Stefanski said. “And that’s what I’ve seen from him.”

Walker delivered on his lofty predraft buzz with a solid rookie year, starting nine of his 15 appearances while registering 5½ sacks, five tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. He battled a lingering hamstring injury early in the year and fought through a quad injury late in the season.

This fall, opportunity awaits Walker. It’s an opportunity nearly as old as the NFL itself, one eventually offered to each player who makes it past their rookie season: the second-year leap.

Players historically make their biggest jump in performance from their first season to their second. There’s a “general leap,” Stefanski said, based largely on comfort. Players have their bearings and better understand the speed, the scheme and the structure of an NFL organization.

“I think there’s something to be said for sophomores in this game of football and the pros where you’ve had that lap,” Stefanski said.

Walker views his first lap as a good stepping stone. He’s ready for more this fall.

“Words cannot explain my excitement for this year,” Walker said. “My mindset is there’s always more. That’s what I push for every day — going out, attacking each day, day in, day out, just getting better.”

The Falcons put together improvement plans for every player, no matter their age or experience. Stefanski wanted the staff to put the onus on itself to drive player improvements because he knows how little details contribute to a bigger picture.

Daily development is the Falcons’ focus.

They want minor steps each day, which for Walker could entail working on his first step on running plays, or how he stabs and disengages blocks. He works closely with outside linebackers coach John Timu during individual periods to refine various aspects of his game, be it as a run stopper or pass defender.

Walker plans to evolve in all aspects, a mentality he’ll carry with him no matter the length of his tenure.

“Nobody’s perfect,” Walker said. “Nobody is that ideal player. Everybody should gain and improve each year. So, all realms of my game — run stopping and pass rush and leadership, on field, off field. Things like that, to me, are very important.”

The Falcons have nine players on their 90-man roster who are entering their second NFL season, but Walker’s growth might be the most important.

“Jalon’s got some superpowers that are really unique,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “He’ll make us better collectively as he gets better individually.”

Those superpowers include toughness, a true love for football and an authentic leadership style that makes him a “force multiplier,” Ulbrich said, or a player who elevates others around him.

But his uniqueness — and what it means for his role — makes Walker’s presence significant to the Falcons’ defense.

He arrived in Flowery Branch last summer with an identity rooted in versatility. As a three-year standout at Georgia, Walker found success as an inside linebacker and edge rusher. Ulbrich and the rest of the Falcons’ staff opted to prioritize position mastery, letting Walker focus on one position before adding more to his plate.

So, the Falcons let outside linebacker become Walker’s home. They didn’t add many decorations. Ulbrich took the blame for it; he feels the Falcons didn’t feature or develop Walker as well as they could have. There was more in Walker’s skill set to unlock, and the team didn’t get there.

Part of it was because of linebacker Kaden Elliss, the team’s leading tackler who wore more hats defensively than anybody Ulbrich has coached. There were days, Ulbrich said, where Elliss was an outside linebacker or defensive end. Others, he was a traditional inside linebacker. And every so often, to a small degree, he was a nickel corner.

The Falcons’ defense evolved nearly as fast as Elliss changed roles. It routinely went so many different ways, and took on so many different forms, that maximizing Walker became difficult.

But Elliss is gone. He signed with the New Orleans Saints in free agency, which created a hole Ulbrich said requires more than one player to fill.

Walker, however, is a good place to start.

“We’re going to ask him to do a lot,” Ulbrich said. “He is one of those guys that’s going to be in a similar role that Kaden had last year. … Jalon’s up to the task, and Jalon’s going to bring his own flavor to it, too.”

Walker said he talked with the team’s coaching staff this spring about the variety of places they can move him around their defensive front. They discussed putting him over the ball, over an offensive guard, on the edge or as an inside linebacker.

“Who knows?” Walker said. “We’ll see more going towards training camp.”

The Falcons view versatility as Walker’s calling card. For that reason, Ulbrich said Walker has a lot of steps to take. To play in a role like Elliss, one that demands so much, Walker is “going to need to become better at everything he does,” Ulbrich said.

Rushing the passer. Setting the edge on running plays. Taking on a small role as an off-ball linebacker. Playing in coverage. Blitzing.

All of it. The Falcons want all of it to be better. They say Walker will be — and they have a better plan to help him do it.

“Just such a clear vision for what he’ll do for us, and ways we need to get him better and ways he will get better,” Ulbrich said. “So, I’m excited about what he’ll become this year.”