The Atlanta Falcons surprised the NFL world by giving up an arm and a leg to jump back into the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, where they wound up taking Tennessee EDGE rusher James Pearce Jr. with the 26th overall pick. This also came after the Falcons had already taken Georgia EDGE rusher Jalon Walker with the 15th overall pick in the draft.
In order to secure Pearce’s landing spot at 26, the Falcons traded away their 2026 first-round pick, No. 46 in the 2025 draft, and No. 242 in the 2025 draft. In return, Atlanta received the Los Angeles Rams’ No. 26 and No. 101 picks in the 2025 draft.
Reaction to Atlanta’s move has varied. Some were very optimistic about the move because of the way it immediately and meaningfully addressed the Falcons’ pass-rush needs. Others, though, have been critical of the draft capital that Atlanta gave away.
ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano is one of the ones who has issues with the Falcons’ pick – or, trade, rather. Graziano seems fine with Pearce as a prospect, but doesn’t sound all that sold on giving up a first in 2026 to do so. On Monday, he listed the Falcons’ second first-round pick as his biggest head-scratcher of the 2025 draft.
“Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. to the Falcons (No. 26). This isn’t about the player; it’s about the price the Falcons paid to move up for him,” Graziano wrote. “Atlanta needed edge rush help and already got some earlier in the round with Jalon Walker. Trading next year’s first-round pick to get Pearce felt like a massive overpay, especially after the Giants gave up only two third-round picks to trade up to No. 25.”
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Graziano wasn’t the only one, though. Out of 16 ESPN analysts who made a pick for the head-scratching selection, three picked the Falcons’ first-round trade. Some of the selections are critical of a particular player or his production, but the Atlanta picks all go back to the trade that was made to acquire said player.
“The Falcons trading up for Pearce,” Mike Tannenbaum wrote about his biggest head scratcher. “While his ability is undeniable, giving up a future first-round pick is always risky, especially since Pearce’s predraft evaluations were all over the place.”
ESPN’s Seth Walder echoed a similar thought, saying, “Surrendering a future first-round pick to move up for a non-QB is almost always bad business, but it’s a particularly poor move for the Falcons. That’s because Michael Penix Jr. has three career starts, so there are plenty of worlds where the Falcons gave up a top-10 or even a top-five pick in this deal.”
The Falcons appear to be pleased with their Day 1 haul, adding Walker and Pearce from nearby SEC programs. And if Atlanta really did go into the draft with the desire to improve its defensive line and pass rush, then mission accomplished. We’ll see if things sour over time, which they could, but all signs point to Atlanta being a better pass rush team this year because of Pearce and Walker.
Will it be enough for the Falcons to be satisfied with skipping straight to Day 2 in 2026? We’ll have to wait and see to find out.
Check out ESPN’s full NFL Draft best and worst breakdown from Monday here.
