This offseason, the Atlanta Falcons have made a concerted effort to address the defense in free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft as they turn over the reins to new defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
In free agency, the Falcons re-signed multiple defenders from last year’s team. Atlanta also signed veterans Leonard Floyd to a one-year, $10 million deal and Divine Deablo to a two-year, $14 million pact.
Then in the draft, the Falcons took pass rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. in the first round, and safeties Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.
The Falcons hope all these new faces can help turn this unit around in 2025. Most Falcons fans are excited to see Floyd, Walker, and Pearce Jr. in action. However, don’t sleep on Deablo, who could be a huge upgrade at the linebacker spot.
The 26-year-old linebacker spent the first four years of his career with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Over that time with the Raiders, Deablo only had one season with at least 100 tackles (106 in 2023). However, he has the skills to be utilized as a blitzer, which the Raiders did a ton.
Falcons fans are excited about Deablo’s addition as he’s an upgrade over former second-round pick Troy Andersen. Andersen is uber athletic, which helped him get drafted on Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft. That said, the former FCS standout has struggled to stay healthy during his NFL career, and Atlanta cannot put its eggs into his basket.
Falcons linebackers coach Barrett Ruud is looking forward to seeing what the former college safety can do in Atlanta, as he’s still rounding into form as an NFL linebacker.
"I think on film, you see the athleticism, No. 1," Ruud said via Daniel Flick of Atlanta Falcons on SI. "He's got great traits for the position. He's long, he's fast, athletic. You saw the toughness on film as well. The ability to tackle, tackle in space. So we were really intrigued by his potential as well."
Last season with the Raiders, Deablo had 63 combined tackles, seven quarterback pressures, four tackles for loss, four QB hits, and two pass deflections.
The veteran wasn’t the best in pass coverage and had a lot of missed tackles (13). However, if you are the Falcons, you’ll take more athleticism at the position.
According to Pro Football Focus, Deablo had a 66.6 pass rush grade (42nd among 189 eligible LBs), but a 58.7 run defense grade (139th) and 53.2 coverage grade (126th). Atlanta fans likely want to see better grades this upcoming season, but it's possible with Ulbrich leading the charge, who did a good job with the New York Jets' LBs.