The season might be over, but the Atlanta Falcons winning continues. Rookie OLB James Pearce Jr. has won the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month award, and he couldn’t be more deserving.
Pearce has been under a microscope since April, with the initial reaction to the trade that brought him in being that the former Tennessee standout wasn’t worth the price. Pearce responded by leading
all rookies in sacks with 10.5 and became the first rookie since Micah Parsons to crack double digits. Pearce was also one of 15 players in the entire league to cross that mark.
In the final month of the season, it looked like Pearce had put it all together. He’s no brick wall in the run game, but he’s become more impactful and less of a liability in that area. He won on his own and through scheme design, and he shouldn’t be penalized for the latter.
Falcons fans know better than anyone that running a specific scheme doesn’t magically fix all your problems; you need the right pieces in place to make it work. Fans have been sold the “pass rush by committee” solution year after year, but it’s no coincidence that it suddenly started working with the arrival of real talent across the line. The two go hand in hand.
Year 1 was a success; the evaluation doesn’t stop here, but it’s off to as good a start as anyone had hoped. Pearce will need to take a step and show he can handle more one-on-one responsibilities, but the sky is the limit for the 22-year-old. Pearce and the other success stories on this roster in 2025 have helped make this an attractive job for potential head coaches.
