Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a statement that has never rung more true for the Atlanta Falcons and their first-round picks.
Despite being a consensus top 10 prospect in the class, Jalon Walker somehow fell into Terry Fontenot’s lap. It was a dream scenario and would’ve left fans feeling great about the first round, but the team wasn’t done.
On Thursday, Atlanta’s GM swung the trade of the night, moving up 20 spots to land another SEC pass rusher, James Pearce Jr., while giving up a future first-round pick. It’s brought about heavy criticism.
Though he filled the team’s longest-standing need in one swing, there will always be negative press. Fontenot is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. In some people’s eyes, there’s a lot of love and a lot of hate surrounding the Falcons’ first-rounders, as Mel Kiper writes.
“Everyone knew the Falcons had to draft a pass rusher early in this draft, likely in the first round. Names associated with them at No. 15 included Mike Green and Shemar Stewart — guys a little further down the board. So getting Jalon Walker, who ranked 10th for me, is a steal. He slid down the board as teams picking earlier focused on offense. Pairing him with Leonard Floyd (and James Pearce Jr., but more on that in a moment) should improve this Atlanta unit. Walker had 6.5 sacks last season and plays with heavy hands. He popped in every game I watched. I actually had him graded as an off-ball linebacker — he played both positions at Georgia — but that versatility only raises his pro ceiling.”
There are a few negative Nancys that don’t love Jalon Walker because he’s a bit of a tweener, but you can never please everyone. The Falcons got a dawg, pun intended, and that’s that. It’ll be up to Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich to maximize his talent, though I’m confident it will work itself out.
“James Pearce Jr. was 34th in my rankings. So while I mentioned the Falcons’ sizable pass-rush issue earlier, I was shocked they traded a future first-rounder to move up to No. 26 to get him. It’s a lot to give up, and talented edge rushers such as Donovan Ezeiruaku and Mike Green were still on the board. Atlanta got value with Jalon Walker, but this one was questionable,” Kiper continues.
James Pearce Jr. went from a consensus top 10 pick last year to potentially falling out of the first round entirely because he wasn’t great in the run game and had some “character concerns” about his desire to play football.
It had nothing to do with his ability. He’s a physical freak, has the college production, and this coaching staff believes in his desire. I can live with that. The Falcons 2024 draft class might not be the rest of the league’s cup of tea, but I think a lot of Atlanta fans are happy right now.
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