The NFL’s Training Camp is just around the corner – it’s the time of year when every team starts their new campaign while all having an equal shot at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy come February.
For some, their starting jobs are on the line, and they’ll fight to earn the starting role from their head coach during camp as well as preseason games.
There’s some good news for the Atlanta Falcons; they have their starting quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. and a reliable backup in Kirk Cousins. For a team with deep playoff aspirations, they’ve checked off the hardest box.
Safety
With the additions of Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. through the NFL Draft back in April and Jordan Fuller through free agency, the safety position is clogged up.
It’s not like a video game where Raheem Morris can move one of their safeties to cornerback or nickel and live with it for a season – he must find the perfect fit.
Those three safeties join Jessie Bates III, who is locked into a starting role. Fuller, who was solid during his first four years in the league with the Los Angeles Rams from 2020-2023. He then signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers in 2024, before leaving in free agency to join Atlanta this past spring.
Watts and Bowman Jr. were two early-round draft selections. Watts has great ball skills and can complement Bates very nicely. Bowman is more of a ball-hawking safety who lines up either in the box or in the slot. He can create a role for himself as a slot corner if the two safeties end up being Bates and Watts.
Regardless of how this position battle shakes out, Watts and Bowman are two solid football players who will get playing time.
EDGE
The Falcons struggled to get to the quarterback a season ago, ranking edge rusher as their top priority this offseason. Morris and his staff seem to have fixed their issue, drafting Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. in the first round of the draft.
They also added Leonard Floyd in free agency, as the 32-year-old signed a one-year, $10 million contract.
Atlanta Falcons 2024 Defensive Ranks:
- Points/game: 24.9 (23rd)
- Yards/game: 345.2 (22nd)
- Yards/play: 5.5 (19th)
- Rushing yards/rush: 4.5 (18th)
- Sack %: 5.09 (31st)
Arnold Ebiketie, who was drafted by Atlanta in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, has yet to break out. With six sacks in each of his last two seasons, he’s poised to push for that starting role come September.
A likely scenario for Morris is that Walker ends up playing that “Micah Parsons-like” role, where he lines up both as a linebacker and a safety, depending on the package. Then the other three edge rushers in Floyd, Pearce Jr., and Ebiketie will rotate.
Cornerback/Nickel
In addition to the plethora of safeties on this roster, the second corner spot opposite of A.J. Terrell is vacant.
Mike Hughes is the likely favorite to win the No. 2 cornerback job, just based on his experience alone. Other than him, the other options are young bucks.
Clark Phillips III is entering his third season after having a decent 2024 sophomore season. Cobee Bryant, an undrafted free agent out of Kansas, has a chance to make the roster with the ability to impress coaches and even make an immediate impact.
The Atlanta native played three seasons for the Jayhawks, racking up 10 interceptions. He has the ideal length for an NFL corner, but with the top two spots likely to be filled sooner rather than later, he might make his impact on special teams or as a depth piece.
Mike Ford Jr., who has spent seven years in the league with four different teams, returns to Atlanta for his second stint with the Falcons. He’s likely to be just a depth piece as well.
The Falcons have some questions that need answers ahead of the 2025 season, but luckily for them, none of them seem to be questions regarding their chances of making a deep playoff run. In a subpar division and conference that lacks elite quarterback play, Atlanta can make a run if it can get after opposing quarterbacks and play more consistently on offense.