Atlanta Falcons: 5 Players Primed For A Breakout in 2015
By John Buhler
Ricardo Allen. 37. player. 44. . FS. Purdue
When the new coaching decided that a position change was part of Ricardo Allen’s future with the Atlanta Falcons, I’ll admit it, I was a bit skeptical. I liked him coming out of Purdue and saw promise in him after watching last season of HBO’s Hard Knocks. But breaking into the cornerback rotation was too difficult for Allen. Now that Atlanta took another CB in Jalen Collins in Round 2 of this year’s NFL Draft, perhaps a position change to free safety was the right call for Ricardo Allen.
The health of the Atlanta Falcons’ safeties the last two seasons has raised some cause for concern. When William Moore is unable to go on Sunday’s, the on-field leadership isn’t there in the secondary and the team takes a step back. Atlanta is trying to get FS play back to what it was like in Thomas DeCoud‘s Pro Bowl season in 2012.
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Though he has never played free safety before, the coaching staff seems to really like Ricardo Allen there. He could end up the starter coming out of camp. In fact, many have anointed him the favorite to start at free safety for the Atlanta Falcons over Charles Godfrey and Kemal Ishmael. Coach Quinn likes his tackling ability as well as his vision to adequately play in the last line of defense.
Will this be a smooth transition for Ricardo Allen? Potentially. I see that having more opportunities for reps at free safety will bring out the best in the second-year player out of Purdue. The four pre-season games will go a long way in determining if Allen ends up the starter, but you have to believe that going up against a strong wide receiver group like the Atlanta Falcons have is a good head start for a player trying to stick in the NFL via position change.
Next: All It Takes is a Change of Scenery