Falcons Looking to Upgrade Defensive Line Depth, Add Former Vikings, Panthers DL

The Atlanta Falcons are attempting to add more depth to the defensive line, signing defensive tackle Junior Aho, who has spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings.

New Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Junior Aho was born in France and has spent time with the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons are looking to upgrade the depth in their defensive line room with a swap of players the team announced on Monday afternoon.

"Transaction: The Falcons signed defensive lineman Junior Aho to the practice squad and released defensive lineman Kenny Oginni from the practice squad," Falcons team reporter Terrin Waack reported on X. "Aho is filling the Falcons’ international player spot that Oginni held."

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Transaction: The Falcons signed defensive lineman Junior Aho to the practice squad and released defensive lineman Kenny Oginni from the practice squad.

Aho is filling the Falcons’ international player spot that Oginni held.

— Terrin Waack (@TerrinWaack) October 14, 2024

Aho is a 6'4 and 272 pound defensive lineman that has spent parts of the last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers practice squads. He has yet to appear in an NFL game.

Aho will not take a spot on the 53-man active roster or the 16-man practice squad as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway (IPP) program. However, he did cost Oginni his place on the team who was formerly holding the IPP spot.

He played his college football for the SMU Mustangs and totaled 44 tackles and six sacks across three seasons. He was also three-time AAC All-Academic.

Aho was born in France, thus qualifying. According to NFL.com:

Established in 2017, the NFL International Player Pathway (IPP) program aims to provide elite athletes from around the world the opportunity to earn a spot on an NFL roster and increase the number of international players in the league.

The NFL's ambition is for the IPP to be the destination for the world's best athletes to develop and begin their journey in American football. The NFL scouts talent globally and brings together the best collective of global multisport athletes for a training and development camp, where players are exposed to elite sporting facilities, football coaches and NFL scouts in a bid to be selected to join an NFL roster.

Starting in 2024, the IPP program will include specialists for the first time – referring to the positions in American football that are responsible for kicking the ball. This includes, but is not limited to, field goal kickers, punters and kickoff specialists.

37 international players have signed with NFL teams (allocated, drafted or signed as a free agent) since the program's inception. There are currently 18 IPP athletes on NFL rosters, and since 2017, five players have made teams active rosters: Jordan Mailata (Australia - Philadelphia Eagles), Efe Obada(UK - Washington Commanders), Jakob Johnson (Germany - Las Vegas Raiders), Sammis Reyes (Chile - Washington Commanders) and David Bada (Germany – Washington Commanders).

- NFL.com