FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When it comes to the cogs in a defensive wheel, few have moved the needle as significantly as Kaden Elliss since he signed with the Atlanta Falcons in March 2023. Elliss has been more than just a starter and playmaker for the unit — he has been its heartbeat.
The heart is the center of the body, much like Elliss is the center of the defense. From a communication standpoint, it's Elliss who has the green dot. From a production standpoint, there are few inside linebackers who put up the wholistic numbers Elliss has the last few years. Just recently, Elliss finished second in the league among linebackers with 30 pressures and was one of two players in the NFL (Tyrel Dodson) with 100-plus tackles, 10-plus tackles for loss, 3.5-plus sacks and an interception in 2025.
Because of the things Elliss does on the field, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulrbich said he's never coached a player quite like Elliss before.
"I've never had a line of scrimmage player run a defense, and in a lot of our defenses, he was a line of scrimmage player," Ulbrich said. "It's a testament to not only his intelligence, but it's probably a bigger testament to his process and how hard he worked at it. Elite communicator and mental processor. We put a lot on his plate, and he thrived."
That context is important because when the NFL calendar resets in March for the start of the new league year, Elliss is set to become a free agent.
Would the Falcons like to re-sign him?
"I would love Kaden back," Ulbrich said. "I think we all would."
In certain ways, Elliss has opened Ulbrich's mind about what multiplicity and versatility can look like within a scheme — particularly his own.
"He gave us this really unique flexibility," Ulbrich explained. "I mean, to think a guy could play world-class line of scrimmage play, but at the same time, you could stack him behind the ball, and he could play world-class stack linebacker play."
That, and Elliss as a person is pretty important to the culture of a locker room.
"He is one of the most amazing human beings I've been around from a character standpoint," Ulbrich said. "His influence on this group, not just from a football process standpoint, but to the way they parent their kids, the way they care for themselves as a man, all that in between, he's amazing."
The Falcons have a lot of decisions in the coming weeks and months as a new regime brings in an equally new philosophy. Amidst the changes, there's a player Ulbrich would stand on the table for. That player is Elliss.
"To replace Kaden," Ulbrich concluded, "would take more than one human being."
