The Atlant Falcons missed out on the playoffs again last year, but they did make progress in several important areas. For one thing, their top-five pick at tight end Kyle Pitts finally had an elite season in his fifth year in the NFL. Meanwhile, Atlanta's defensive pass rush exploded.
Thanks largely to the additions of rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker on the edge and a breakout second year from Brandon Dorlus inside, the Falcons finished second in the league in sacks with 57 - the most in franchise history.
That was a near-unthinkable improvement over the 31 sacks they posted in 2024, which was the second-fewest in the league. Despite that huge step forward, Atlanta's pass rush is suffering from the same disrespect as the rest of their
roster has this offseason.
According to CBS Sports, the Falcons only have the 20th-best pass rush in the NFL this year.
"Whether Pearce faces a suspension for his offseason arrest will greatly impact the formidability of the Falcons' defensive front," wrote Carter Bahns. "The third-place finisher in last year's Defensive Rookie of the Year voting should be one of the NFC South's top young players if he is on the field, and with Walker by his side as another potential second-year standout, Atlanta's 2025 first-rounders have a chance to develop into a dynamic duo."
It is fair to ding the Falcons a bit to account for the looming potential suspension for Pearce, who led the team with 10.5 sacks. However, even if you took all of those away Atlanta still would have finished tied for the seventh-most sacks in the league last season.
The new guns on the edge were the biggest reason for the improvement, but defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich also has to get a good deal of the credit for that progress.
At the absolute worst, Atlanta's pass rush should be ranked no lower than 10th going into the 2026 season, even if we assume Pearce will miss half of it.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons pass rush earns disrespectful ranking from CBS Sports
