FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — With the No. 15 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker.

Walker may have been just a one-year starter for Kirby Smart, but his overall impact and playmaking ability makes him arguably the top edge rusher/linebacker not named Abdul Carter in this year’s class. Despite his smaller frame when compared to other edge rushers, Walker’s upside is exactly what he showed at Georgia: An ability to consistently put a quarterback under pressure.

Walker led Georgia’s defense in almost every pass-rushing stat line, like that of total pressures and pass rush win percentage. That’s all well and good, but what’s most interesting about this note is that Walker only had the seventh-most pass-rush snaps on the team. And yet, he constantly found ways either by design or by effort to get to the quarterback.

Let’s learn more about the newest member of the Falcons defense.

School: University of Georgia

2024 Stats: 11 starts | 60 total tackles (10.5 for a loss) | 6.5 sacks | 2 passes defended

Honors: 2024 third-team All-American | 2024 second-team All-SEC | 2024 Butkus Award winner

How he fits with the Falcons: Call him an edge rusher. Call him a linebacker. Call him a hybrid of the two. Whatever you call him, just make sure you know to use the word “versatile” when describing his play, because that’s exactly what it is. Walker is the type of player defensive coordinators would love to move around the front-seven while putting creative rush plans together for him. This tracks for why the Falcons would want him seeing as what they’ve liked to do with Kaden Elliss in the past. For Walker, that’s a role that he values himself, saying he is at his best when he’s used as a chess piece. For the Falcons, continuing to unlock his potential in this way — as a hybrid, chess piece of sorts — could pay dividends for what the Falcons could do defensively.