The two first-round selections made their NFL debut in Friday night's preseason opener against the Detroit Lions. Neither player lit up the stat sheet, but there was still plenty to like. Pearce got after the quarterback and recorded three QB hurries.

Atlanta was trailing Detroit 17-10 when Friday's preseason opener was stopped after a serious injury suffered by a Lions safety.

We did not see the majority of starters suit up, and while preseason takes need to always be taken with a bit of a grain of salt, there were a number of players who took the field for the Falcons who are expected to be real contributors this season (at least on the defensive side of the ball).