Falcons rookies will have chance to earn ‘significant’ playing time in 2025 season

Now, especially after investing three first-round picks on two defenders in the draft, the Falcons are banking on youth.

Jalon Walker, donning No. 11, and James Pearce Jr., in No. 27, are tasked with finally providing the Falcons some needed pass rush. Friday marked their first time practicing on the field in Flowery Branch, albeit in the loosest setting possible. This weekend is about diving into the playbook and developing familiarity.

“(I’m just excited) for the opportunity; a lot of people don’t get it,” Walker said. “I’m blessed and fortunate enough to get it, to meet the staff, the coaching staff, training staff, guys that I’m going to be playing with. It’s a great time for us to connect and be part of the Falcons organization.”

The Falcons are having Walker work as a full-time edge rusher right now — “I love that, it’s good with me, and I’m excited to embrace that role,” he said — but likely will take advantage of the versatility he showed at Georgia as an inside linebacker.

Pearce, meanwhile, towered above his teammates at practice (listed at 6-foot-5) and at points showed the speedy burst that made him worthy of a first-round selection. The Falcons loved Pearce to the point they dealt their 2026 first-round pick to the Rams to move up to No. 26 and take him. They were strongly considering him at No. 15, but Walker falling created this circumstance.

“I just want to be effective,” Pearce said when asked about his rookie-year expectations. “I’m not putting any numbers on it. But everybody knows the sky is the limit and the work I get out of it is what I put in it.”

Defensive backs Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr., the team’s third- and fourth-round picks, respectively, likewise will have the chances to play early. Watts could pair nicely with Jessie Bates III as a safety (the Falcons signed veteran Jordan Fuller, so he could start in the event that Watts isn’t ready).

Bowman can be moved around, so his presence expands the defense. The Falcons have had him working at different positions, he said, but he projects primarily as a nickel. He said he and Watts have started to develop a nice rapport, and he’s felt comfortable learning the scheme thus far.

Rookie minicamp will run through the weekend. The Falcons will begin OTAs on May 27 and have mandatory minicamp June 10-11.

Undrafted standout

The Falcons were giddy about landing Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant as an undrafted free agent. Bryant is smaller (6-foot, 180 pounds), lacks speed (4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash) and sometimes uses his hands a bit too much, struggling with more physical receivers. But the production — namely 13 interceptions in 47 games — helped him earn three consecutive first-team All-Big 12 selections (2022-24). Most analysts expected a team to draft Bryant, even with his physical limitations.

The Falcons had Bryant in for a top-30 visit, where they clicked with him and envisioned how he could impact a defense desperate for improvement. Morris said that meeting, along with the fact that the Falcons didn’t take a boundary cornerback, helped the team beat out competitors to sign him after the draft.

“Cobee is like the most famous undrafted player I’ve been around,” Morris said. “My kids know him. It’s unbelievable all the stuff he’s done, the accolades. But you go back and watch the tape, you’re not shocked that he’s well-known. We were fortunate to bring him in on a 30 visit and get a chance to meet with him, get around him.

“When it came down to that recruiting process at the end of the draft, that was something that was really exciting for me because I had a clear vision to speak to him in a clear fashion because I’d watched the tape. I had been around him. I knew what he could do, what he’s capable of. Whoever we were competing with basically didn’t have a chance (chuckles).”