Getty Arnold Ebiketie of the Atlanta Falcons tackles Taylor Heinicke of the Washington Commanders.
Atlanta Falcons rookie outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie has adjusted well to the NFL in his first season.
In fact, the Penn State product currently sits at No. 2 in pass rush win rate among all rookies, according to NFL Rookie Watch. With a 12.6% average, he trails only New York Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux’s 14.5% average. However, Kansas City Chiefs‘ George Karlaftis isn’t too far behind him with a 12.5% win rate.
Rookie pass rush win rate leaders:
Kayvon Thibodeaux 14.5%
Arnold Ebiketie 12.6%
George Karlaftis 12.5%
Aidan Hutchinson 11.1%
Travon Walker 9.2%
Pass rush win rate reflects how often a pass rusher is able to beat his blocker within 2.5 seconds. None of the rookies is in the league’s top 10 linebackers, who are led by the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett’s 30% pass rush win rate.
Ebiketie has seen action in all 12 games this year with one start. Heading into Week 13, Ebiketie has logged 28 total tackles (17 solo), 2.5 sacks and two passes defended.
Ebiketie Progress Earns High Marks from Head Coach Arthur Smith
Ebiketie’s best outing this season came in Week 11 against the Chicago Bears, when he logged six total tackles and a sack in the team’s 27-24 victory. A week earlier, on Thursday Night Football, Ebiketie logged three tackles, half a sack and a quarterback hit in Atlanta’s 25-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Win or lose, Ebiketie has been a bright spot on the team, and his progress hasn’t going unnoticed by the staff.
“AK, we had him as our player of the game,” head coach Arthur Smith said November 20 following the Falcons’ Week 11 win over Chicago. “He’s gotten better, got a sack — should’ve had another. But he’s playing really well, some of the subtle stuff he’s doing when you coordinate certain games that he’s doing that I appreciate about him.”
Smith even called him “fun to work with.”
“The Film Room” creator Brett Kollmann tweeted on October 17 that Ebiketie, a native of Cameroon, was going to be “stupid good.”
“The box score stats will match the tape eventually,” Kollmann wrote, sharing a package of clips showing Ebiketie pressuring San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on October 16.
The Falcons Drafted Arnold Ebiketie in the 2nd Round
The Falcons drafted Arnold Ebiketie in the second round (38th overall) of this year’s draft. It didn’t take long for him to make a name for himself, as he recorded his first career sack in his NFL debut in Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints.
In that game, he played 26 defensive snaps, logging his first tackle on running back Alvin Kamara and sacking quarterback Jameis Winston a few plays later.
Ebiketie made it publically clear via Twitter that he was just getting started:
The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder from Kensington, Maryland, spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Temple University before transferring to Penn State for his final year of eligibility. In one season as a Nittany Lion, he finished second in the Big Ten in tackles for loss with 18 and third in sacks with 9.5. He also earned second-team All-America honors.
It’s been a long time since the Falcons have had a decent pass rush. In fact, the team was only able to accumulate 18 total sacks last season under a new defensive system led by Dean Pees. But with the addition of Ebiketie and others, the Falcons have been able to come up with 17 this year and have five more games (and perhaps a playoff rebirth) to come up with some more.