Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich referred to his linebackers as “a little silo of a family” within the team’s defense. But that silo — and that family — lost its linchpin this offseason, and there’s no next-in-line ready to claim the title.
How could there be? Kaden Elliss did things nobody else ever has in Ulbrich’s system. Some days, he was a traditional linebacker. Others, he was a defensive end, edge rusher or nickel.
The Falcons have accepted that replacing Elliss, who left for the Saints in free agency, is a multiplayer effort. Ulbrich thinks they have the pieces in the building to do it. Linebackers coach Barrett Ruud has the challenge of figuring out which ones.
“You don’t just plug and replace Kaden because he did so many things for us,” Ruud told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s going to be more than one guy replacing that body. What you do is you just find what guys’ skill set is made for, and you try to put them in position to be successful.
“Not everybody can jump on the ball and play like Kaden did, and then jump off the ball and play like Kaden did. So, you might have to use a couple guys to fill that same role.”
Divine Deablo has already taken over one of the biggest responsibilities Elliss held last season, wearing the green dot as the defense’s lead communicator. But Deablo, who started 13 games next to Elliss in 2025, will keep the rest of his on-field role the same.
So, the onus to replace Elliss’ various alignments and postsnap assignments — be it blitzing, covering or ranging from sideline to sideline — falls on the rest of the bodies within the silo.
Christian Harris has been the primary starter alongside Deablo during organized team activities, with free-agent signee Channing Tindall, sixth-round rookie Harold Perkins Jr. and 2025 practice squad member Malik Verdon seeing snaps on the second unit.
Kendal Daniels, the team’s fourth-round pick, had a boot on his foot during an open-to-media practice May 19 and didn’t participate the week after either. Troy Andersen and JD Bertrand have also been present but inactive in drills.
All told, the Falcons underwent a rather significant makeover at linebacker. Ruud likes his room, Deablo likes his colleagues and Ulbrich likes the chemistry and competition oozing from the unit.
“Whoever ends up being the starter is going to have to earn it because there’s a lot of talent in that room,” Ulbrich said. “And whoever’s the backup better be ready to play, because I think there’s going to be a role that they all deserve to have in some capacity. So, I just think it’s an amazing group.”
The Falcons have a variety of flavors at linebacker, which aids their process of finding different players to fit niche roles.
Harris is known for his range and explosiveness. He didn’t play on the line of scrimmage much over the past four years with the Texans nor in college at Alabama, but he’s eager to add more to his game. He wants more multiplicity in his game and to be involved in more packages.
There’s a certain inspiration for his desire.
“You’ve seen a lot of Kaden Elliss last year,” said Harris, who added he’s watched film on Elliss a couple times this summer. “So, just trying to get me grown for that role.”
Another viable option for that responsibility is Perkins, who tallied 17 sacks and 35½ tackles for loss across 43 games at LSU. He spent considerable time on the line of scrimmage as a blitzer and edge rusher, and Ruud acknowledged Perkins’ college film showed a natural feel for getting after opposing quarterbacks.
Elliss notched three sacks and 10 quarterback hits last season, and the Falcons aren’t limiting their scope on who can replace Elliss as a versatile blitzer.
“I think everybody needs to get a chance to rush the passer,” Ruud said. “And this is what the time is for. This is where guys gain the coach’s confidence and where the coaches kind of gain the player’s confidence on where their skill set best fits in the defense.”
This time — OTAs — serves as a chance for the Falcons defensive staff to better resemble mad scientists. They’re blending roles and responsibilities while using pad-free practices to learn what their players do best.
That could mean using Perkins as a blitz-heavy, sub-package linebacker to complement Harris, who plays on early downs, and Daniels, who uses his safety background to be a weapon in coverage.
There’s another candidate, too. One who has experience doing all of it and was compared to Elliss during the predraft process. That candidate, however, is also supposed to be a key piece to the team’s pass rush.
Jalon Walker spent his rookie season as an edge rusher after playing largely as an inside linebacker at Georgia. His career arc was the reverse of Elliss, who was a defensive end in college and moved to off-ball linebacker in the NFL.
But Walker has the athleticism and experience to wear a similar number of hats as Elliss, and Ulbrich expects Walker to factor into the replacement equation.
“His calling card is his ability to do so many different things,” Ulbrich said. “We’re going to need him to become better at everything he does, whether it’s the pass rush, edge setting for the line of scrimmage, small role off the ball, coverage, blitz. We’re going to ask him to do a lot.
“He is one of those guys that’s going to be in a similar role that Kaden had last year. … Jalon’s up to the task, and Jalon’s going to bring his own flavor to it, too.”
No matter who steps up or adds more to their plate, there’s little denying Elliss was the king of the Falcons’ linebacker silo the past three years.
Deablo, if anybody, takes over the crown. But even he won’t have as much control, or stake, in the Falcons’ defensive operation. It’s a group built on versatility, with several different pieces coming together to form one puzzle that Ulbrich and Ruud are still trying to align.
But the Falcons know this much: Their linebackers, while competitive, are selfless. And in a world, Ulbrich said, that’s rooted in self-promotion and a me-over-we mentality, the Falcons feel they have the right personalities necessary to mix, match and morph their way into a solution for this offseason’s biggest question.
“It’s going to be a lot of work, and we’re going to try to figure things out through the spring and training camp,” Ulbrich said. “But I’m excited about the guys we have here.”
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