FLOWERY BRANCH — For much of the first two years of his time with the Falcons, outside linebackers coach John Timu felt like he was the only Samoan in Georgia. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s arrival helps, but there are still no Hawaiian barbecue restaurants to make Atlanta feel more like home.
That’s one adjustment Timu, previously a defensive assistant before taking on a full-time position coach role this spring, has been forced to make. Adapting to defensive line coach Nate Ollie is another.
“His energy is infectious,” Timu said. “It’s kind of hard to match, because I’m just kind of even-keeled.”
Together, they balance each other out and blend two personalities, position groups and philosophies into one collective pass-rushing unit tasked with building upon the most productive year in franchise history.
The Falcons recorded 57 sacks last season, eclipsing the organization’s previous record of 55 and flipping the script on a pass rush that, for several years, had been dormant on Sundays.
How will the Falcons follow up such a season? With the same methods but several different faces.
James Pearce Jr., who was arrested Feb. 7 after an alleged altercation with ex-girlfriend Rickea Jackson, will likely face a suspension from the NFL, though the length and timing remain uncertain. Pearce led the Falcons with 10½ sacks last year. David Onyemata, a key player on the interior, left in free agency.
Yet no matter the lineup or personnel, Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s preferred playing style won’t change.
“If we can find four that can provide pass rush without blitzing, that’s where we’re going to lean,” Ulbrich said during OTAs. “If they need me to get them going at times with a little help in regard to pressure, then we’re going to go down that road.
“I think the beauty of what we built last year is we’ve got the ability now to go both ways. We can really fine-tune this thing based upon the guys that we’ve got out there.”
Those guys, as Ulbrich referred to them, are in the hands of Timu and Ollie. They’re bouncing ideas off each other, and they’re aligned in a central belief about the 2026 Falcons: If they’re going to repeat last year’s sack output, they need several players to take significant steps forward.
Here’s a deeper look at the team’s defensive linemen and outside linebackers before players arrive for training camp July 28.
Depth chart
Starters: OLB Jalon Walker, DL Zach Harrison, DL Brandon Dorlus, DL Maason Smith
Backups: OLB Samson Ebukam, OLB Azeez Ojulari, OLB Bralen Trice, DL LaCale London, DL Da’Shawn Hand, DL Cameron Thomas, DL Chris Williams
Notable departures
- David Onyemata (free agent, signed with New York Jets)
- Ruke Orhorhoro (traded, Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Leonard Floyd (free agent, still unsigned)
- Arnold Ebiketie (free agent, signed with Philadelphia Eagles)
- Kentavius Street (free agent, signed with Chicago Bears)
Biggest questions
1. How does the interior defensive line rotation shake out?
The Falcons’ defensive tackles have drawn an odd degree of scrutiny from national outlets, but there’s a good chance the group outperforms expectations.
Brandon Dorlus, who had a breakout second season with 8½ sacks last year, is another strong year away from being one of the league’s best young defensive tackles. The Falcons are depending on Dorlus taking that step and leading their interior.
He’s not the kingpin, though. That’s Da’Shawn Hand, a 30-year-old veteran who only last season became an every-game starter with the Los Angeles Chargers. The 6-foot-3, 302-pound Hand is the Falcons’ bright hope of holding the line of scrimmage and stifling the opposition’s run game.
There’s LaCale London, nicknamed “Big Twitch,” fresh off a season with five sacks and seven tackles for loss. There’s Maason Smith, a 2024 second-round pick hoping a change of scenery is the right prescription to get his career off the ground. There’s Zach Harrison, who Ollie dubbed the “Ambassador of Strain” and worked all across the defensive line during OTAs and minicamp.
The Falcons will be rotation-heavy on the interior again, but they have actors in the right roles. Dorlus should be the main character, while London, Hand and Harrison have proven solid in supporting roles. Smith is the wild card and might ultimately dictate how good the unit becomes.
2. Can Samson Ebukam return to form?
Why, one might wonder, is the ascent of a 31-year-old who started one of 14 appearances and made only two sacks last season so important to the Falcons’ pass rush? Because Ollie, who spent 2023 with Ebukam on the Indianapolis Colts, thinks he can be a difference-maker.
“Really happy to have Samson coming along this year,” Ollie said. “Really love Samson. Samson was with me in Indy, and we really believe Samson did a good job. Depending on him.”
The final part — depending on Ebukam — is in response to the Falcons sustaining last year’s pass rush production with new faces. Ollie saw Ebukam at his best, a 9½-sack, 17-quarterback hit season in 2023.
But Ebukam’s stock is in a far different place now. He tore an Achilles during training camp in 2024, missing the entire season, and had a quiet year as a rotational edge presence with the Colts in 2025.
Ebukam, who signed a one-year, $2.765 million contract this spring, feels “pretty motivated” to prove he’s still the same player who led the Colts in sacks three years ago.
“Everyone’s always told me it’s the second year that you really get going after an Achilles, because now it’s just not in your mind anymore, and that’s where I’m at right now,” Ebukam said in June. “I’m getting off the rock just like I used to. You feel me?
“I’m actually a little bit faster, in my opinion, and I got that strength in there, so I’m not worried about the Achilles at all this year.”
3. Can Brandon Dorlus and Zach Harrison take the next step?
Dorlus was the Falcons’ biggest breakout performer last year, but Harrison was in lockstep before a knee injury cost him the second half the season.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Harrison, a third-round pick in 2023, is entering a contract year with additional confidence after setting career highs with 4½ sacks and five tackles for loss in seven games. He’s versatile enough to kick outside and play defensive end or slide to the interior on passing downs, which gives Ollie and Ulbrich options with how they deploy him.
Dorlus has two years remaining on his contract, but Ollie thinks the 6-foot-3, 295-pounder has a nice payday awaiting him down the line. His primary individual goals this fall: playing all 17 games and getting more sacks than last year.
Elite, young interior defensive linemen are a hot commodity in the NFL. Dorlus, after the year he put together in 2025, is a strong encore away from earning a spot in that conversation.
Extracurriculars
- When Ulbrich discussed the Falcons’ potential replacements for Pearce, he said the team would “see if we got a guy here that can replace that role” before expressing his excitement about Ebukam and Bralen Trice. The latter is particularly interesting. Trice, a third-round pick in 2024, has missed the first two regular seasons of his career because of knee injuries. The Falcons are high on Trice, and they feel he’s in a good place mentally and physically entering this fall.
- In a similar vein, Maason Smith made several fans in the Falcons’ building this summer. At 6-foot-5 and 306 pounds, Smith’s athleticism jumped out. He didn’t produce much in two years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he has the tools to be a solid piece to the Falcons’ front this year.
Training camp information
The Falcons open training camp July 29 in Flowery Branch. The team will have 10 open practices for the fans, one being exclusive to season ticket holders July 31.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
