The injury to A.J. McCarron settled the backup quarterback question, with Josh Rosen signing this week. But the Miami game also did a lot to answer nearly all of the questions on the offensive line. At left guard, Josh Andrews appeared to have a bad outing against the Titans, but it was really just one play - that didn't even count - that had the media ripping him. Apparently he had satisfactory joint practice sessions against the Dolphins. He only played the very first series of the game before the coaches had him call it a night, compared to having him play the entire first half against Tennessee. It suggests that the coaching staff is now treating him as a starter. Kaleb McGary returned to practice last week, and the coaches got him some reps in the first two series of the Miami game. Put him down as the starter at right tackle. One of the surprises of preseason has been Willie Beavers, who bounced around practice squads in 2016-2018, was out of the league for the 2019 season, and appeared in the XFL in 2020. With the expanded practice squad and eligibility, Atlanta signed Beavers to their expanded practice squad last year and brought him back this year. He turned it on in training camp and earned practice reps with the first unit offense. With Matt Gono on the PUP list, Beavers appears to be the primary candidate for the swing tackle role. The preseason games show the team is giving him serious consideration. He played the entire first half against the Titans at left tackle, and he played most of the game against Miami - starting at left tackle and switching over to right tackle for the first two series of the second half. Third round pick Jalen Mayfield had a disastrous outing at right tackle in the first half against Tennessee, prompting the coaching staff to work him more at guard during the week in practice. He didn't play the first series against Miami, but he replaced Andrews at left guard and remained in the offense for the rest of the game, switching from left guard to right tackle for the final two series. He was rock solid at left guard - definitely looking more comfortable on the inside than he did at tackle against Tennessee's wide nine pass rush. Also noteworthy is that the Falcons had two huge runs in the final offensive series, and both were to the right side with Mayfield as the right tackle. Noteworthy: Andrews is only on a one year contract. Mayfield likely provides depth this year but might be the future starter at left guard. Fourth round pick Drew Dalman played nearly the entire Miami game at center after playing the first half at center against Tennessee. He was rock solid in both games. Put him down as the active interior backup. The wide receivers haven't been particularly effective in the two preseason outings, not doing much to get open for A.J. McCarron and simply dropping passes (four in two games) by Feleipe Franks. Quite frankly, it's really not all that important as the team did not play Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage or Olamide Zaccheaus in either game. The guys who have been struggling are competing to fill out the fourth and fifth receiver spots and potential extra spots either on the back end of the roster or the depth chart. Bear in mind that head coach Arthur Smith likes to use multiple tight end formations, so we'll probably see a lot of Kyle Pitts and Hayden Hurst on the field with Ridley and Gage. That makes the #4 WR spot seem almost irrelevant. But the battle for those roster spots continues. According to the game announcers and several writers, Christian Blake and Tajae Sharpe are the top contenders, with Chris Rowland potentially sneaking in as the punt returner. I'll throw in one more dark horse name for one of those depth roles. Sixth round draft pick Frank Darby was virtually invisible in the first exhibition game and appeared to be falling out of the picture, dropping all the way to fifth string on the depth chart for the Miami game. But against the Dolphins, he was targeted twice and caught both passes for 27 receiving yards, including converting a third down. He also played three snaps on special teams units and made a tackle in coverage. He showed progress from week one to week two, reliability when on the field, and perhaps most importantly that he contributes on special teams. At this point I'd project him to make at least the practice squad, and he might end up on the regular roster with a solid showing in the final exhibition. At running back, the early release of speedy Louisville UDFA Javian Hawkins is a disappointment but not much of a surprise. He was ineffective in the first exhibition game and was relegated to fourth quarter duty against Miami. He did have a 30-yard run through a wide open hole, but fellow UDFA Caleb Huntley and former Texans draft pick D'Onta Foreman have simply beaten him out (with Huntley matching Hawkins with his own 30-yard run on the very next play). Huntley came into camp as a dark horse candidate, but he's a powerful runner. Against Miami, he also showed skill as a blocker and even as a route runner. Noteworthy: fullback Keith Smith didn't play at all in either preseason game. That suggests the new coaching staff plans to keep the true fullback position, and considering that Smith is the only fullback on the roster, he's making the team. If they didn't plan to keep a true fullback, he would have been released before camp. If his future was in question, he would have been playing in the preseason games. That leaves one less roster spot in the backfield for Qadree Ollison, Foreman and Huntley behind starter Mike Davis and RB/KR Cordarelle Patterson. On defense, the projected starters have yet to play. Also noteworthy is that Miami jumped out to a big lead in the first half while their starters were up against a mix of Falcons second, third and occasionaly even fourth string players. The Dolphins needed to get the reps for their first unit, while the Falcons need to answer questions about their depth. So ignore the score. It was an ideal situation for both teams, and several of the Falcons backup candidates jumped out with strong outings. Second round pick Richie Grant has had strong outings in both games. Noteworthy is that he has been taking reps as the team's nickel corner and looking solid. The coaching staff would love to get him on the field in combination with safeties Erik Harris and Duron Harmon. Playing Grant as the nickel defender would accomplish that - and would also give them an alternative to the likes of cornerbacks Isaiah Oliver and Kendall Sheffield. Former Colts 2016 second round pick T.J. Green joined Atlanta's practice squad last season and is trying to win a roster spot to resurrect his career. So far he's looking strong enough to do it. Like Grant, the Clemson safety has cross-trained at cornerback and is showing promise. Green worked at strong safety against Miami while 2020 fourth round pick Jaylinn Hawkins worked at free safety. They appear to be set to round out the safety group. At corner, Isaiah Oliver and Fabian Moreau only put in very brief appearances against Miami, while obvious starter A.J. Terrell has yet to dress for a preseason game. Kendall Sheffield was unavailable, but it's noteworthy that prospect Chris Willilamson (seventh rounder last year for the Giants) had already jumped ahead of him on the depth chart. Sheffield is at risk of not making the roster at all. Up front, 2020 second rounder Marlon Davidson was outstanding against Tennessee but was held out of practice last week and unavailable for the Miami game. Jacob Tuioti-Mariner has dropped some weight to move to the edge and has been a pleasant surprise, while fifth round rookie Ade Ogundeji has become a preseason star. The team will still need improvements from starting DT Tyeler Davison and edge rusher Dante Fowler this season, but add in the continuing development of John Cominsky, and it's starting to look like Grady Jarrett might actually have an adequate supporting cast this year. The linebacker group is looking like it will be the strength of the defense. Deion Jones and Foye Oluokun are the clear leaders of the group in Dean Pees' hybrid scheme, with last year's fourth rounder Mykal Walker coming on strong in his first training camp. But rather than struggling to find someone suitable of providing depth behind them, the coaching staff will be hard pressed to decide which prospect(s) to release. Emmanuel Ellerbee, Dorian Etheridge and Erroll Thompson have all put in solid showings. I wouldn't be surprised if they all stick around between the roster and the practice squad. The key question mark is the health of Thompson, who was injured in the second half of the Miami game. We have one more exhibition to go, and it will finally be time to see the starters in action. Fingers crossed that everyone stays healthy...
