Once more, unto the breach! Head coach Arthur Smith emphasized earlier this week that the roster is not at all set yet and that many spots are still up for grabs. One other interesting twist about this season is that the practice squads have been scheduled to bump up from 12 players to 14 players this year. That makes it possible for just over half of the cut players from each team to stick around. Here are some of the key situations and players that I want to see in focus today: Drew Dalman, Matt Hennessy, and whoever plays left tackle with the second unit: most of the OL focus will be on the battle for the starting center job. Fair enough, but both of those guys are going to make the roster, and both of them will be active on game days. My guess is that Dalman and Hennessy will alternate series, as they've each had one game with the first unit. Going into the game, the contest is probably as even as it could possibly be. Dalman had one bad blocking play against Detroit, and there have been two false starts (one in each game) that I believe were cases of Hennessy not snapping the ball when he should. Meanwhile, the swing tackle role is still up for grabs. Rick Leonard had two disastrous holding calls against the Jets, helping turn two potential Falcons touchdowns into field goals. That cost him his roster spot. And that leaves us without a clear leader for that role. Germain Ifedi has been the second unit right tackle but hasn't taken snaps on the left side. Jalen Mayfield has been the second unit left guard and started at left guard last year. He's a natural tackle though, and this may be the opportunity to move him back to his true position. Colby Gossett came up as a backup last year and has worked as the second unit right guard this preseason. He's capable of moving out to tackle, but will he get a shot at it? Dark horse candidate to watch in this group: Leroy Watson. I don't see him winning the role or even making the roster, but I do see him as a candidate for the practice squad thanks to his performance at left tackle with the third unit. Keep in mind that Ifedi and Gossett are only signed for this year, as is right tackle Kaleb McGary and left guard Elijah Wilkinson. The team will be looking to stack the practice squad now with players who might step into key roles next season, such as late draft pick Justin Shaffer and undrafted prospect Tyler Vrabel. Watson may become the top contender for the swing tackle role in 2023, but first he has to seal the deal on a practice squad spot for 2022 with a solid showing today. Jared Bernhardt and Dee Alford: these two have been this year's out-of-nowhere sensations. I want to watch them just because they've been so much fun to see. Bernhardt wasn't just undrafted. He was a name that stumped the truck in the annual NFL-N segment (and the only draft candidate that the truck didn't have this year). But he made the game winning touchdown catch (in spite of uncalled interference) against Detroit and led the team in receiving vs the Jets. He has real upside, and he might be forcing his way onto the roster rather than the practice squad. For that matter, I don't think he'd clear waivers if the team tried to drop him to the practice squad. Alford was an undrafted small school prospect who spent last year in the CFL and is trying to crack the roster in the NFL. If I had to rank the cornerbacks based on the preseason games, he's #5 on my list. I'd say one more solid outing today, and the roster spot is his. All of the backup defensive line prospects: I'm still thinking that one or even two roster spots on the defensive line will be won by The Player(s) To Be Named Later. The front office did its job bringing in a few extra veterans, but Vincent Taylor got hurt and Eddie Goldman had a change of heart and retired. Marlon Davidson will be out for a few weeks, and top prospect Jalen Dalton got hurt against the Jets and is now out of the picture entirely. That leaves Anthony Rush and Ta'Quon Graham to fill starting roles rather than rotating in as backups, and in turn that leaves a bunch of guys that no one has ever heard of (specifically, Darrien Daniels, Abdullah Anderson, Timmy Horne, Nick Thurman, Derrick Tangelo) trying to prove that they're ready to step into the rotation and play significant snaps at the NFL level. Horne had a standout play against Detroit. He's also the biggest of the bunch, meaning he's potentially a backup for the nose tackle role. But for me, the clear winner in the Jets game was The Player To Be Named Later. I think the team will be watching the waiver wire and also might sign a veteran after week one. But for now the prospects are the best we've got. KeeSean Johnson, Isaiah Oliver, Deion Jones, Nick Kwiatkoski: Johnson is the newest addition to the WR group. Oliver is returning from injury and participated in the joint practices with the Jets but was held out of the actual game. Jones and Kwiatkoski are both returning from injury and have been paired together in practice this week. I want to see all of them simply because they weren't in the first two preseason games. I have Oliver tagged as the team's nickel corner, so I want to see him shake off the rust after missing most of last year. I want to see Jones moving well, as he might still be a trade target. Showing that he's healthy would be a big step in moving forward with whatever trade might be on the table. Kwiatkoski is an experienced free agent, but missing so much of camp and preseason after getting banged up has left him in danger of falling off the roster. And I have no idea if Johnson would be able to unseat any of the other WR candidates. He'll have this one chance to make his case. I don't see it happening, but I do want to see what he brings to the game.
Nice ! Im going to have a more interesting time watching the Falcons today at 3pm eastern vs the Jags. Lot's to play for yet. Im keeping a close watch on the o-line... its very important for offensive success, which sounds like a captain obvious statement, but it is really going to be a necessity to get the right combo out there for Marriotta's sake and the run game. I forgot about Vrabel... he doesnt miss games/snaps or much at all... good luck to him hope he gets in the game for a few snaps.
Good looking drive for Atlanta... Vrabel was in there on the right side. Falcons answer the Jags FG with a TD... 7-3
Immediate reactions as to how they did: Drew Dalman, Matt Hennessy, and whoever plays left tackle with the second unit: didn't even play. The Falcons skipped over the first AND second unit offensive lines and went straight to the third unit. So... Hennessy and Dalman did have equal time at center (zero snaps each), and nobody played left tackle with the second unit. Mixed results from Leroy Watson with the third unit. He wasn't as solid in this one as he was against Detroit, but for a practice squad candidate that probably isn't so bad. The coaches would mainly be looking for developmental potential, and he had a few "flash" moments in run blocking in this one. I don't think he hurt his chances much if at all. We'll just have to wait for the coaches to announce the starting center and probably wait for the inactive list on opening day to figure out who will take the swing tackle role. Jared Bernhardt and Dee Alford: Bernhardt came back to earth a bit in this one. He whiffed badly on a block on a screen pass, wasn't able to bring in one catch and wasn't credited with the catch on the next one (which he actually did catch). Alford started at cornerback. I'd say he was solid in that I don't recall him ever even being targeted. All of the backup defensive line prospects: these guys really put on a show in this game. They were playing Jacksonville's backups, and they abused them for the entire game. I'm not convinced that they don't need to add an extra lineman to the group. Beating up Jacksonville's scrub linemen doesn't mean much, especially when they also played against Detroit's scrubs and the Jets scrubs and didn't have anywhere near that level of success. But it was fun to watch. KeeSean Johnson, Isaiah Oliver, Deion Jones, Nick Kwiatkoski: all of them did see action. Jones shook off the rust and moved around pretty well, though I think he might have missed a coverage assignment on the very last play before he came out. Oliver came in later - he didn't start - but he's also just shaking off rust. It was good to see him back on the field. Kwiatkoski paired with Deion Jones. Later in the game linebacker Dorian Etheridge got hurt and left the field on the cart. The announcers posed the question of whether that opened the door for Deion Jones to get playing time in rotation. To me that's a silly question, because once Jones got back up to playing speed he would blow right past Etheridge on the depth chart. The more important question is whether it opened the door for Kwiatkoski to make the roster. That one's still unclear, and I'm not all that optimistic about his chances - especially while Jones is still around. But he does at least have a fighting chance. KeeSean Johnson only had a short appearance but made the most of it. He was the gunner on a punt and made an impressive tackle, then had an equally impressive reception on the next offensive series. He's late to the party, but he just made his presence felt in a big way. It won't be easy for the coaches to get rid of him. I had listed Caleb Huntley as one of my seven players to watch in the first preseason game. He was so far down the RB lists for last year's draft that none of us even chose him as a UDFA in the mocks. The biggest issue is that he had very little playing time in 2020 and needed development - probably even two "redshirt" years rather than just one. He got a good bit of it on the practice squad last year, and now he's showing that he truly is a serious load to bring down. I couldn't believe it when he hurdled a defender on one late run. I'd hate to be the first guy making contact with him after he came back down. I've had him pegged as returning to the practice squad. I think he's good enough for the roster, but there isn't going to be room with Patterson, D. Williams, Allgeier, A. Williams, Ollison, and potentially fullback Keith Smith. One thing I did notice is that just like in the Detroit game, the coaches took him out when they were ready for a pass play. In this case, fellow running back Tyler Allgeier got the short swing pass for the touchdown. I don't know if they just wanted to see Allgeier in that situation or if they don't yet trust Huntley to catch the ball or pass protect. But to me it didn't seem like a coincidence that they kept taking him out for passing situations. I'd really hate to lose him off of waivers or off the practice squad though. Olamide Zaccheaus and KhaDarel Hodge did not play. Damiere Byrd did, starting along with Frank Darby. This surprised me, as I would have expected Byrd to be held out. I had him tagged as the likely starting slot receiver with a roster spot already locked away. So a quick revision: Drake London and Bryan Edwards are probably the starters, with Hodge as the #3, OZ as the #4, and Byrd, Darby, Bernhardt and now KeeSean Johnson in contention for one or two extra spots in the group. If they keep six, my inclination would be Byrd and Bernhardt. But I'd try to keep KeeSean around on the practice squad and get more time with him that way to evaluate him.
One thing working against Leroy Watson is that even with the expanded practice squad (I believe it goes up to 14 this year), there are so many other suitable candidates that it might be hard to fit him in. Even on the OL, I'd say that four of the five linemen who played against the Jaguars all have strong chances of being kept on the practice squad. At tackle, Tyler Vrabel also had an outstanding camp and preseason overall. I didn't think Justin Shaffer lived up to the hype (came from national championship program and had not allowed a single sack) coming into training camp, but he might have an edge over the others as the team invested a draft pick in him. Ryan Neuzil did a solid job as the third unit center throughout preseason, and somebody has to snap the ball for the scout team. I feel pretty sure he's going to be on the practice squad. If I'm in the room when the decisions are made regarding the offensive linemen, my recommendations would be to keep Jake Matthews, Elijah Wilkinson, Drew Dalman/Matt Hennessy, Chris Lindstrom, Kaleb McGary, Jalen Mayfield, Colby Gossett and Germain Ifedi on the roster. I'd suggest the trade-off be that by opening up a regular roster spot with only nine linemen instead of ten, I'd like to see extra linemen - preferably four - on the expanded practice squad. I'd remind everyone that two starters (Wilkinson and McGary) and two of the backups (Ifedi and Gossett) are only signed for this year. The offensive line needs to be one of the top priorities for future development. I'd have Vrabel and Neuzil for two practice squad spots and would push to keep both Shaffer and Watson. Between them, I see more long term upside potential in Shaffer, but my impression was that Watson performed better in preseason. Shaffer needs a lot of work, and there will be plenty more guards like him available as late picks or UDFAs next year. They both might end up being left out (Vrabel too, for that matter), especially if surprise roster cuts from other teams make some more experienced linemen suddenly available. That's life in the NFL. And of course those late surprises could affect the roster as well. I'd say Ifedi and Gossett are hardly safe even if they make the initial 53.
