Atlanta selected super-athletic Montana State linebacker Troy Andersen in the second round of this year's draft. Is he going to play a major role for the team in 2022? Looking at Richie Grant as an example, it seems more likely that Andersen will spend 2022 as a core special teams player and a backup. Last year, the Falcons took Grant with the #40 overall pick, prompting the local media to speculate that he would be a major feature of Dean Pees' defense as a rookie. Instead, he ended up playing less than a fourth of the team's defensive snaps, and most of his time on defense was as the nickel back rather than at the strong safety position. Earlier this year, head coach Arthur Smith said he was looking for bigger things this year from the 2021 rookie class, and he specifically mentioned Grant. That prompted another round of bashing from the local media, saying his rookie season was a disappointment and that he had been called out by the head coach as needing to show big improvement. But that wasn't the case, and both Smith and Dean Pees have made sure they clarified since then that they were quite happy with Grant last year, that his development is on track, and that "bigger things" meant that Smith was looking for a larger role for Grant this year. In particular, Pees noted last year's injury to nickel corner Isaiah Oliver as a factor in Grant not getting more time at safety last year. Grant was considered the best option to step into that role. Noteworthy: Pees tapped the rookie safety Grant instead of third year cornerback Kendall Sheffield to be the one to step in for Oliver. That suggests the team was indeed pleased with Grant. Head coach Arthur Smith confirmed that and added to it last week: "Richie had an impact and he helped us. He developed the right way. That was part of the strategy last year when we took him. We didn't envision him as a Day 1 starter. We envisioned him to become a starter and an impact player." The most likely scenario is that Smith and Pees will try to push Grant and 2020 fourth rounder Jaylinn Hawkins into the two starting safety roles this season. Veterans Dean Marlowe and Erik Harris are also on board in case the youngsters struggle. Isaiah Oliver is back for 2022, but he's still recovering and is not participating in the offseason program. Even if he's not ready to go in preseason, it isn't likely to be Grant filling his shoes this year. Best guess is that someone like Darren Hall (2021 fourth rounder) or a free agent addition like Teez Tabor, Lafayette Pitts or Corey Ballantine would get a shot at backing up the nickel role. Smith's comments also add to the likelihood that the team will try to take it slow with Andersen's development rather than rush him into a starting role. Foye Oluokun has already left the team, and it's questionable whether Deion Jones will be on the roster by the time the season starts. But 2020 fourth rounder Mykal Walker is still on board, and the team has added Rashaan Evans and Nick Kwiatkoski to the interior linebacker group. There shouldn't be any pressure to rush Andersen.
