The Atlanta Falcons didn’t have many picks to work with in the 2025 NFL Draft, but they made the best use of them. The Falcons addressed their defense, taking Jalon Walker, James Pearce Jr., Xavier Watts, and Billy Bowman Jr. with their first four picks.
Then, with their last selection in the seventh round, Atlanta bolstered their offensive line depth, taking Jack Nelson. If you are a Falcons fan, you must be excited to see the team get young talent on defense after seeing how things played out in 2024.
However, with Atlanta adding new players on defense, other players, such as former third-round pick DeAngelo Malone, are in jeopardy of not making the team.
The 25-year-old defensive end has been a massive disappointment in his first three years with the team. He has 51 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, and three sacks across 49 games.
Last season, Malone racked up 16 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, three QB hits, and two sacks in 17 games. But he spent most of his time on special teams, playing 81% of snaps.
The former Western Kentucky defender also had five quarterback pressures, an improvement from his rookie season (4), but the Falcons expected more from the former Day 2 pick.
When the Falcons took Malone out of Western Kentucky, he recorded 94 combined tackles, 18 tackles for loss, nine sacks, four pass deflections, and four forced fumbles in his last year. The 6-foot-3 edge rusher finished his collegiate career with 61 tackles for loss and 34 sacks.
Malone hasn’t been that type of game wrecker with the Falcons, which they could’ve used last year. Last season, Atlanta was ranked 31st in sacks (31). This was a huge indictment of then-defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake.
The Falcons hope to generate more sacks under new defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who will look to get the most out of this defensive line. However, Malone might not be part of those plans as he’s projected to be behind Pearce and Leonard Floyd on the depth chart.
Atlanta signed Floyd to a one-year, $10 million deal in free agency in March. Floyd is coming off an 8.5 sack season in 2024 with San Francisco, so they’ll likely want to get him on the field a lot this upcoming season.
That said, the optics don’t look good for Malone, who has gone from a promising third-round pick to a reserve on the defensive line. The Falcons made it a point of emphasis to upgrade the front-seven, and Malone could be the one who gets left behind.