Every rookie pass rusher who lands in Atlanta seemingly undergoes the same arc. They are hailed as a potential hero, put up a solid-but-unspectacular first season, and a significant portion of the fanbase despairs that they will never turn into anything. Too often, that despair has been warranted.
Since 2000, the Falcons have drafted exactly one pass rusher who has managed a double digit sack season, and that would be Vic Beasley and his highly productive 2016. The team has drafted well over a dozen pass rushers over that span and hasn’t gotten much more than a handful of solid seasons out of any of them, so the skepticism about this team’s ability to find the guy is warranted.