Are Falcons Ready to SURPRISE in NFC? | Albert Breer’s Top 5 Falcons Camp Takeaways

Are Falcons Ready to SURPRISE in NFC? | Albert Breer’s Top 5 Falcons Camp Takeaways

We’re here at Atlanta Falcons camp. The 18th stomp on my camp trip. Back on the road again. I went to a joint practice with the Tennessee Titans. We’ll have takeaways from the Titans, too. I got five takeaways from Falcons camp. Takeaway number one, there are two big questions here for the Falcons. The first is how well they play at quarterback. The second is how will they affect the other team’s quarterback. We’ll get to that second qu get to that second question later. The first question, they’re very optimistic about where Michael Pennix is. In fact, Raheem Morris’s Ram ccentric staff here sees a lot of parallels between where Michael Penn is from a skill set standpoint and what they saw in Los Angeles with Matthew Stafford. He’s improved a lot in his base and his ability to layer throws. He doesn’t have quite the arm angles that that that Stafford has yet, but just, you know, as far as his ability to see the field fast, process fast, have great vision, um you know, all of that is there. So, they feel really, really good about where Michael Penn is going into his second year. And as a bonus, you know, Kirk Cousins has actually been fine since the start of camp. He’s actually helped Penn a bunch. Uh, takeaway number two, um, we know the offensive line is is going to be good. They have four veteran players, a fifth, and a center who’s been here before who started eight games from last year replacing Drew Dolman. Matthew Berseron looks like he’s ready to take a step, maybe become an elite player, a guard. So that’s the foundation of the offense, but there are questions at the skill positions. We know what Bejan Robinson is. We know what Drake London is, but Darnell Mooney is very iffy for the opener from an injury standpoint. So there’s been a lot of competition for snaps at receiver. Ray Mloud, a veteran player, had a nice camp. Casey Washington, a secondyear guy, showing his speed. Then if there’s a dark horse, it might be David Sills. If you guys remember, he was the seventh grader um who once committed as a quarterback to Lane Keifin at USC. It was that long ago. 29 years old. He’s had a nice summer. So, those three guys are competing at receiver. And then at tight end, you got Kyle Pittz. The interesting thing with Pitts is that he’s done a lot of his individual work during camp this year at the receiver spot. They’re trying to find a way to to get the most out of them. So, some moving parts there at the skill positions around Penn. Takeaway number three. We can now get to the Falcons ability to affect be a quarterback which has been a long-standing problem here in Atlanta. And obviously the Falcons went all in in the draft and taking Jaylen Walker 15th overall and then trading back into the first round and trading away their 2026 firstrounder to get James Pierce at 26th overall. These two guys are are different players. Walker is playing a position which they’re going to call the spinner in the Falcons defense. It’s a guy who can play both on the line and off the line as a linebacker. Sort of similar in some ways to the way that Michael Parsons was played by the Cowboys early in his career. Um, and he’s interesting when you get out and you see him in person. He’s got this really squatty build. They’ve actually compared him to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Um, the way that he looks, but you can see the strength and the football IQ is off the charts. The football makeup is off the charts. He’s very much in so many different ways a reflection of his dad. He’s a coach’s son. Um and so he should be a guy who’s going to find a role early on. It’s just a matter of how you use him as a guy who again can play on the ball or off the ball as a linebacker. As for James Pierce, went 26th overall. Might have been a top five pick if it hadn’t been for all the character questions with him. And one thing that they’ve done here in Atlanta under Raheem Morris, they’ve tried to take a very holistic approach towards handling players. And they hope that that’s going to get a guy like Pierce to turn the corner. They feel like they’ve gotten his trust. And as a player, when you get him and Walker out there together, you really feel it. So, if they can maximize those two, they feel like their pass rush will look completely different than it has in a long, long time. Takeaway number four. If there’s a guy who’s really stood out um as far as, you know, where he is versus expectations in camp, it’s probably inside linebacker, Devon Diablo, who comes over from the Raiders, was a good player for Vegas. Um and the the Falcons in signing him to a two-year deal. really liked his length, they liked his athleticism, but some of the stuff maybe you couldn’t see on tape, the intelligence, the instincts, um the football makeup has really shown up and he looks like he’s going to be a real leader for that team on for that for for that defense. And you add him to what they’ve got from a leadership standpoint from Jesse Bates in the back end and Raheem Morris and the new defensive coordinator Jeff Albrich really like where they’re at at this stage in camp. And finally, takeaway number five, two areas where I think you will see uh make a difference here in his first year as defensive coordinator taking over for for Jimmy Lake. The first is in the versatility of the group. In fact, they’re taking one of the best players in AJ Terrell and trying to make him more versatile. Terrell, of course, has been a really good corner in the league for a long time. Um he’s done it mostly as a guy who can man up um the the the the other team’s best receiver. And so what they’ve worked on him during worked with him on during camp is becoming a better zone defender, which will give them some more flexibility and and and and how they call the defense. And um you know, they feel like he’s definitely got the versatility in his body to do it. He just hasn’t been asked to do it a lot. Walker, of course, another example of what they’re looking at um from a versatility standpoint in in Jeff Albbrrook’s defense. And then the second piece that they’re looking for is a little bit more edge. And I think this is where somebody like Pierce comes into play. If they can kind of channel his personality, which again is pretty edgy, like they feel like he can bring that to the table. So the arrow looks like it’s pointing up on the defense with these young players infused. And again, coming over from the Jets. Appreciate you guys checking out this and all the rest of our camp takeaway videos. Our next stop tomorrow with the world champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Sports Illustrated offers sports fans trusted, authentic, agenda-free reporting and storytelling featuring sports news, scores, photos, columns and expert analysis from the latest in today’s world of sports including NFL, NBA, MLB, college basketball, college football, soccer, golf, NHL, tennis and fantasy.