Falcons First-Round Draft Pick Walker Wearing Historic Franchise Jersey Number For Atlanta
The Atlanta Falcons have recently released jersey numbers that the team's rookies will wear for the upcoming season.
The Falcons released the jersey numbers for their five 2025 draft selections on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday afternoon. James Pearce Jr. will don number 27. The two safeties the Falcons added in the middle rounds of the draft, Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr., will don numbers 31 and 33, respectively.
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Seventh-round draft pick Jack Nelson will wear number 69. For the Falcons UDFA's, the team has released the numbers that they will wear on the team's website. The most popular jersey number being tossed around the rumor mill is the one that Jalon Walker has chosen to wear. He will don the number 11 jersey.
Georgia's Jalon Walker's name was displayed when selected by the Atlanta Falcons during the NFL Draft. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Given that Julio Jones once wore that number for Atlanta and will go down as a franchise great, it has caused some concern around the league. It is speculated that one day that particular number will be retired and will be unavailable for Walker to have. No one knows exactly when that day will come, but rest assured, it will.
It isn't the first time since Jones left Atlanta that the jersey number has been worn. During the 2023 season, quarterback Logan Woodside wore number 11 for the Falcons. Then last season, quarterback Emory Jones had it. The only difference is that those two players only appeared with it once in a game. Walker will be an every-down player on defense as long as he remains healthy.
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For now, Walker can wear that number with pride, but he may be forced to part with it soon when it hangs in the rafters.
Related: Atlanta Falcons Rumored To Be Included In NFL's International Series
Related: Atlanta Falcons 53-Man Roster Projection For 2025
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