The Atlanta Falcons will open the season without both of their 2025 first-round edge rushers, leaving Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. out of the Sept. 13 opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That is a real problem for a pass rush that was supposed to get better, not thinner, after the 2025 NFL Draft.
Walker, the No. 15 overall pick, is on season-ending injured reserve after tearing his ACL in camp in early August. Pearce, taken No. 26 overall, will miss the first eight games of 2026 because of a suspension tied to domestic violence-related charges in February. For the Falcons, that turns a spot that was supposed to be a strength into a scramble before Week 1 even arrives.
That scramble is why the Falcons depth chart is being watched so closely now. Za’Darius Smith was signed out of retirement in mid-August to bolster the edge rusher room, and he is the obvious veteran answer. He had nine sacks in 2024 and 1.5 sacks in two starts with the Eagles last year, but he is still listed as a backup on the current depth chart even though projects him as a starter in 2026. If that listing holds, it will be a reminder that the chart on paper does not always match the workload on Sunday.
Atlanta’s listed starters at defensive end are Cameron Thomas and Brandon Dorlus, which says plenty about how short-handed the group is. Thomas had 2.5 sacks last year. Dorlus had 8.5 sacks and is more of an interior rusher, though he is expected to get more time at defensive end because the Falcons need bodies there. Veteran Samson Ebukam and Zach Harrison are also in the mix after posting two sacks and 4.5 sacks, respectively, but none of that changes the basic math: the Falcons are going into the opener undermanned at edge rusher.
The Steelers should see the opening they wanted, with the Falcons forced to lean on a rotation that looks more like a patch job than a finished front. The interior should be sturdier, helped by Dorlus, D’Shawn Hand and Gervon Dexter Sr., who had six sacks from the interior for the Chicago Bears in 2025. But the edge remains the issue, and the biggest unanswered question is how much of that burden Smith will actually take in Week 1. If he plays like a starter, the depth chart will be revised by necessity. If he stays in reserve, the Falcons will be asking backups and converted roles to carry a season opener against a team that will notice the gap immediately.
For now, the chart says one thing and the situation says another. Walker is out for the year. Pearce is unavailable until later in the season. And the Falcons are heading into Sept. 13 with the one part of the defense they spent two first-round picks to fix already under pressure.
