The Atlanta Falcons have been in a precarious situation at edge for the better part of a decade. Time after time, the team only seemed to come up with band-aids for a battle wound and the revolving door continued to spin. Terry Fontenot addressed the need early in the 2022 NFL Draft with his aggressive move up in the second round to select Arnold Ebiketie out of Penn State. Soon after that, he went back to the well with his selection of speed rusher DeAngelo Malone out of Western Kentucky.
Marc Ross of NFL Network joined Chris Goforth on Saturday to discuss the job that the young General Manager has done early in his tenure in Atlanta.
After a mere 18 sacks as a team in 2021, the Falcons had hit rock bottom and they had no choice but to address the position. Fortunately, the recent draft had a deep pool of talent to select from.
"I love the picks of Arnold Ebiketie and DeAngelo Malone," Marc said. "And you guys watch out for DeAngelo Malone because he was one of my favorite underrated players in the draft."
DeAngelo Malone is only listed at 6-3, 243 pounds, and that likely plays into why he dropped into the third round. Don't let that fool you because this is a player that flashes on film as somebody much bigger than his listed size.
Malone enjoyed a very successful collegiate career as a two-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. He exploded in the 2019 season after leading his Western Kentucky in sacks (11), tackles (99), and tackles for loss (20.5). In his final year as a Hilltopper, he was named the Conference USA Player of the Year after leading the nation in tackles (88), led the Conference USA in tackles for loss (16.5), and was second in the conference in total sacks (8).
The Falcons will be expecting a lot out of the rookie, but Malone has the opportunity to make an impact early and often.