After another disappointing year, the Atlanta Falcons made it a point to upgrade one of the NFL’s worst pass rushes during the offseason. Not only did the Falcons land Georgia edge Jalon Walker with their first choice in the 2025 NFL draft, but they doubled down by trading up for Tennessee edge James Pearce Jr.
The two first-round selections made their NFL debut in Friday night’s preseason opener against the Detroit Lions. Neither player lit up the stat sheet, but there was still plenty to like. Pearce got after the quarterback and recorded three QB hurries.
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As for the snap counts, Walker played 19 snaps and Pearce played 18. If you want to see all of Pearce’s snaps from his preseason debut, then check out this Tweet below from Fantasy Pros’ Nick Penticoff.
Falcons rookie James Pearce’s preseason debut:
Walker showed off his power but didn’t generate quite as much pressure in his preseason debut against Detroit. Penticoff also shared a video with all 19 of Walker’s defensive snaps on his Twitter account. Check it out below.
Falcons rookie Jalon Walker’s preseason debut:
The pair combined for just one accredited tackle and three quarterback pressure attempts, but right now, their true measuring stick isn’t really on the stats sheet. As with the team’s other rookies, their job is to get used to the speed of the NFL game. which they seem to be doing fine thus far.
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This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: Jalon Walker, James Pearce preseason snaps