The Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers are in a similar boat heading into the 2025 season. After a wildly disappointing 2024 campaign where they both missed the playoffs, both teams will be looking to jump back into the thick of the postseason hunt.
However, it is also a transitional period for both organizations. A plethora of moves to make room for Brock Purdy’s extension has left San Francisco without its usual godsquad of talent, while Atlanta reckons with the first full year of Michael Penix Jr. as a starter. But for both teams, a defensive upgrade might be right around the corner.
Key Veteran Could Help Either the San Francisco 49ers or the Atlanta Falcons
Both teams were underwhelming defensive units last season. Ranking in the bottom 10 of the league on PFSN’s Defense+ metric, their performance left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, the offseason wasn’t very kind to either team on that end.
The 49ers, in particular, lost standouts like Dre Greenlaw, Maliek Collins, Leonard Floyd, and Javon Hargrave. Even in the secondary, both Talanoa Hufanga and Charvarius Ward moved on to new teams.
While they found replacements in the 2025 draft like Alfred Collins, Mykel Williams, and Nick Martin, the secondary remains suspect for the 49ers. The Falcons, on the other hand, made some improvements, adding Jordan Fuller in free agency.
Going a step further, they spent back-to-back draft picks in the 2025 NFL Draft on safeties, adding Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. However, none of the names are smash-hit successes.
As a result, for both San Francisco and Atlanta, a name to target could be Jordan Whitehead, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That is according to Moe Moton of Bleacher Report, who ranked Whitehead sixth in his list of best remaining unsigned free agents.
One of the most consistently reliable safeties in the league, Whitehead played in 14 or more games in each of his first six seasons in the league. Unfortunately, a brutal car accident ended his 2024 campaign.
Potentially, the ramifications of that accident have led to Whitehead still not finding a contract in the league. But during his seven-year tenure, he has proven to be a valuable contributor on the field.
For Moton, the Whitehead-Robert Saleh combo is a safe bet for the 49ers after they appointed Saleh as their new defensive coordinator. “Saleh saw Whitehead perform at his best with the help of his former defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich,” Moton reminded.
Jordan Whitehead : 2 tackles & a career-high 3 INT’s (He had 7 INT’s in his career coming into tonight’s game) pic.twitter.com/nhEFJj3WOC
Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) September 12, 2023
“The 49ers need a placeholder in one of their starting safety spots as Malik Mustapha recovers from a torn ACL.” With Mustapha suffering the injury in January, he likely misses a majority, if not the entirety, of the 2025 season.
Whitehead, as a replacement, would offer starter-quality production while giving either team a nice safety valve in the secondary.
