Atlanta Falcons: 5 players with something to prove in 2016

Brooks Reed‘s first year with the Atlanta Falcons was certainly a forgettable one for the five-year pro out of the University of Arizona. Reed came to Atlanta during the 2015 free agency period to sure up a very weak Atlanta Falcons’ linebacker corps.

He was supposedly going to start at left outside linebacker until he suffered a groin injury in the second preseason game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Reed had to have groin surgery and ended up missing all but five games of the 2015 NFL season, the fewest games of his NFL career so far.

Reed was a strong starting linebacker for the Houston Texans in his first four years in the league (2011-14), so perhaps with health on his side in 2016, Reed can help uplift the Atlanta Falcons’ linebacking corps to another level in 2016.

With the Falcons’ front office deciding to part ways with a more productive outside linebacker in 2015 in Justin Durant, who too has his issues with injuries, the pressure is on Brooks Reed to perform more than any other veteran on the 2016 Atlanta Falcons.

Next: 2. Vic Beasley