Death, taxes and the Atlanta Falcons never getting after the passer... It is a tale as old as time, or ever since John Abraham left for the Arizona Cardinals over a decade ago. Yes, there was that one great year out of Vic Beasley, but that was because future Pro Football Hall of Famer Dwight Freeney was giving him the answers to the test. There was also that amazing game out of Adrian Clayborn as well.
What I am getting at is this is probably the biggest reason why the Falcons have not had a winning record since Steve Sarkisian went Fourth and Sark all over himself in the NFC Divisional Round vs. the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles way back in 2017. You probably do not remember, but I will never forget. This has been the most frustrating period of my Falcons fandom in my lifetime.
So when I saw my FanSided.com colleague and False Start co-host Cody Williams have the Falcons taking an edge rusher who also wore orange in college at No. 15, I could not get Beasley out of my hind. Yes, I understand that I could be totally wrong in how I am evaluating James Pearce Jr., but I simply do not trust this team to make the right decision in the 2025 NFL Draft with an edge rusher.
It is why I almost prefer the Falcons to take a cornerback or even a safety with the No. 15 overall pick.
James Pearce Jr. reminds me way too much of Vic Beasley for the Falcons
Look. I want to preface this by saying I do not get it right with every single draft pick one of my teams end up taking. I was not a fan of Trae Young coming to the Atlanta Hawks. He may be half the size of Luka Doncic now, but Young has been the star player worthy of going No. 5 overall by way of Dallas. I also did not get the Drake London pick two years ago. I name my fantasy football teams after him...
However, I hated the Hawks' Marvin Williams pick over Chris Paul in the moment way back in 2005. While I may have liked that Takkarist McKinley brought a picture of his late grandmother up to the podium to meet Roger Goodell for the first time, the other Watt brother was still waiting to be drafted out of Wisconsin. Guess what player wrecked the Falcons' first game of this season this past year?
Later on in Williams' draft, I saw a pair of Georgia edge rushers in Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker go to the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, respectively. Odds are, Seattle and Green Bay may have a better idea of what to them than the Falcons. What I am getting at is if Pearce does not work out with the Falcons and the two players from Georgia become Pro Bowlers, I am going to scream!
This is not about being a homer, it is about learning from one's mistakes. Beasley may have been great coming off the edge at Clemson, but he was starring for essentially an SEC team that played an ACC schedule back then. The Tigers were at a massive talent advantage. Again, Pearce is the better version of this, but the Falcons have me questioning every pass-rushing prospect for good reason.
In a way, I would almost rather use the No. 15 pick on a defensive back to get Jessie Bates III and A.J. Terrell some more help in the back-end. This would allow for the Falcons to let Justin Simmons walk in free agency if his market got too robust. At this point, I might rather take a flier on a veteran like Josh Sweat in free agency, see what Bralen Trice could do in year two, as well as draft an edge in day two.
Again, I may be completely wrong in all this, but this player to this team elicits bad memories for me.