Atlanta Falcons To Start Minicamp, Defensive End Position Battles

Malliciah Goodman had the longest arms of any defensiveplayer in the NFL Combine this year. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Falcons are going to have a lot of players working out this weekend, and most of them aren’t even on the current roster. Alongside the eight rookies that were drafted this year, the team is expecting 24 college free agents and 17 tryout players in town.

Jay Adams, of Atlantafalcons.com has the full list of players, as well as some of the stats a few of them put up in college.

Daniel Cox, also of the Falcons website, writes about the competition that is going to unfold at the Defensive End position this year.

After drafting back-to-back corners in the first and second rounds, General Manager Thomas Dimitroff addressed the team’s second-largest weakness. In rounds four and five, Dimitroff drafted Malliciah Goodman out of Clemson, and TCU’s Stansly Maponga. Both are defensive ends and will compete for starting roles with Osi Umenyiora, Kroy Biermann, Jonathan Massaquoi, and Cliff Matthews.

The Atlanta defense needs to get better this year, and so far, it has the potential to be a lot better. Impact corners should have an immediate impact on the team, and hopefully, a few of the guys mentioned above can step up to improve one of the league’s worst run defenses.

Be sure to check out Brad Rowland’s recap of Goodman and Maponga draft selections.

Also, what do you think about the Atlanta Falcons defense this year? Do you have faith that it will be better than last year? Let us know.