The Falcons lost Dontari Poe, and entering the draft they had also not resigned free agents Ahtyba Rubin and Courtney Upshaw. To make the interior even more thin, just before the draft they also released prospect Taniela Tupou, leaving Joey Ivie as the only returning prospect. They did sign Garrison Smith and Justin Zimmer, but these are also only prospects - both were on practice squads to begin the season last year. So... they just HAD to draft an instant starter at DT and at least one rotational backup to replenish the group, right? Dan Quinn had even commented that this was a good, deep draft class for defensive tackles. Well, they took only one - South Florida's Deadrin Senat in the third round. He doesn't seem likely to be an instant starter, though the more you learn about him, the more you understand why the team was eager to get him. He seems like a terrific selection for Dan Quinn's defense, and at 314 pounds he's likely to step into a key run-stuffing role very early in his Falcons career. But we needed more. The hole in the DT group was so incredibly obvious that you just knew the tandem of Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn had some other plan in mind. Maybe Rubin would be coming back or one of the other free agent options would arrive in Atlanta, or perhaps both. Now we know. Terrell McClain became available. Atlanta jumped on him. Vacancy filled. Grady Jarrett is one obvious starter. Jack Crawford returns from injury and is another key rotation piece, if not an outright starter. The rookie Senat probably won't start, but expect him to get a significant number of snaps in the rotation. And now McClain is a strong candidate to start next to Jarrett. Smith, Ivie and Zimmer will be competing for a fifth spot to round out the group or a practice squad berth. Defensive end Derrick Shelby might also take some snaps from the interior in pass rush situations (picture a front four of Takk, Jarrett, Shelby and Beasley on third and long). And if needed, offensive lineman Ben Garland has played DT before and can take snaps there again. Even better, if everyone else can stay healthy (certainly not a given), the team will be able to bring along Senat gradually in his rookie season rather than forcing him into a true starting role from day one. (He may in fact be listed as a starter as he's likely to play on first down, but expect both McClain and Crawford to take more snaps.) Several of the national writers knocked Atlanta's draft because they didn't do more to address the DT group. McClain is only here on a one year deal, but that's enough for now.
