Falcons Could 'Have Something Brewing' With Third-Year Edge Rusher

Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon shared his thoughts on the Atlanta Falcons heading into Week 10.

Atlanta Falcons linebacker Arnold Ebiketie / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Even after their best pass rushing effort of the season, the Atlanta Falcons are last in the NFL with nine sacks entering Week 10.

The expectation was the Falcons would add an edge rusher at the league's trade deadline. However, that didn't come to fruition, as Atlanta didn't make a trade Monday or Tuesday.

For that reason, Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon doesn't have high expectations for the Falcons pass rush during the second half of the season. But Gagnon did argue Friday that the team's one hope lies in third-year defensive lineman Arnold Ebiketie.

"That so-far awful pass rush won't improve via outside help now, so it's going to fall on the current guys," Gagnon wrote. "That means Matt Judon in particular, but it's also possible they have something brewing with third-year second-round pick Arnold Ebiketie. We'll see."

Ebiketie has just 1 sack with 3 tackles for loss and 7 quarterback hits this fall. Last season, he had 6 sacks.

But Ebiketie experienced his best game of the year versus the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday. That's a big reason why the Falcons pass rush came alive in the game.

Ebiketie had 5 combined tackles, including 1 tackle for loss and 3 quarterback hits in the Falcons' 27-21 win. He also recorded his first sack of the season.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has been nothing but confident about his team's pass rush throughout this season. After Ebiketie's breakout game, he was even more convinced.

"I definitely like the progress he made and where he was going in his attempts to go out there," said Morris.

Ebiketie was one of three Falcons who recorded at least 6 sacks last season. The issue the team is experiencing, though, is the other two Atlanta defenders with that many sacks in 2023, Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree, are no longer on the roster.

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett has returned from injury and leads the Falcons in sacks this season. Linebacker Kaden Elliss has also been playing great football as of late.

So, Ebiketie doesn't have to do it completely on his own. But, he does have to continue "brewing" for the Falcons to improve defensively.