Falcons Rookie Linebacker Getting Surprise Reps with 1st Team

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - Harold Perkins Jr. is making an early impression on the Atlanta Falcons defense.

The rookie linebacker out of LSU has already earned significant reps with the starting defense throughout training camp.

But the sixth-round NFL Draft pick isn’t surprised. It’s what he expected.

“I feel regular. I do this every day,” Perkins told reporters after practice on Monday, Aug 10. “This ain’t nothing new.”

Perkins is primarily playing the inside linebacker spot in Atlanta’s starting rotation. It’s one of many positions he played for the LSU Tigers, where he starred as an edge rusher, inside linebacker, and safety.

His versatility made him a potential draft steal for the Falcons.

“I think anytime that you have an opportunity as a young player to get reps with the ones or move up from the threes or the twos, it’s a great test for our guys,” Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said.

“I think ‘Perk’ has continued to get better every day,” the head coach added. “Certainly, I’ve shared that with ‘Perk,’ just making sure he stacks these days. He’s being very diligent about what he has to do on our defense and on special teams.”

Perkins has ascended as an echoing voice and a helping hand for the Falcons’ defense.

He’s part of a youth movement that also features former Oklahoma Sooner and fellow rookie Kendal Daniels earning valuable time in the first defense as a mike linebacker. Daniels wears the green dot for the second-team defense, meaning he handles defensive play-call communications.

Perkins and Daniels are training camp roommates, and also lived together during rookie minicamp earlier this summer.

“Great person,” Daniels said of Perkins. “Keeps me going. Tells me the plays when I mess up. He helps me out a lot. Great player.”

Though taking linebacker responsibilities, Perkins could also get increased playing time as an edge rusher during the 2026 season. The Falcons will be without their rising star Jalon Walker, after the second-year edge tore his left ACL at training camp.

“It’s just football,” Perkins said, “My mindset is just to go out there and kill.”

Perkins will make his NFL preseason debut on Friday, Aug. 14, against the Denver Broncos.

That will be the first in-game evaluation of his impact in defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s system.

“The mentality of our defense, we want to be the alphas,” Perkins said. “We want to come out and stamp things from the go.”

Falcons-Broncos will kick off at 7 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It will be televised locally on Fox 5 Atlanta, the ESPN app with an unlimited plan, or NFL+.

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