Atlanta Falcons ‘comfortable and confident’ in secondary despite no draft additions

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons’ defense has long been a punchline for passer struggles, allowing concerns in the secondary to be at least partially overlooked.

But Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot entered the 2024 NFL Draft intending to reverse that trend, intending to add another piece to the running back room defensive players who helped Atlanta finish 8th in the league in pass defense a season ago.

The plan did not come to fruition. The Falcons made eight picks, five of which were used on defense but none on defense.

Questions lingered around Atlanta’s No. 2 cornerback spot opposite AJ Terrell, a role filled primarily by Jeff Okudah last season before rookie Clark Phillips III took over for the final five games. Okudah left for the Houston Texans in free agency, but Phillips returned — although with his 5-9, 184-pound frame, his long-term ability to play on the perimeter left some concerned.

Those concerns aren’t being felt at Atlanta’s Flowery Branch headquarters, and Morris has praised Phillips throughout the spring and summer. The same is true with veteran Mike Hughes, who became the Falcons’ starting corner in the final four games of the season.

With Morris, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and secondary coach Justin Hood coming into the fold this spring, Dee Alford returned to the first-team nickel position while Phillips and Hughes alternated reps as the starting No. corner. 2.

And while most — including Falcons decision-makers — predicted another name to join that competition this summer, Hood is very committed to his room.

“Extremely comfortable and confident,” Hood told FalconsSI near the end of the OTAs. “We have guys that come to compete and work every day. When I sit there and think about it, it’s never a ‘Find a guy across from AJ.’

“For me, it’s, ‘Find a guy who’s going to come in, execute and compete every day.’ And that includes AJ.”

Falcons assistant head coach and defensive end Jerry Gray is one of several transfers from Arthur Smith’s staff to Morris’, and he has remained involved in defensive backs meetings. Gray, Hood and defensive assistant Lance Schulters are the primary coaching presences in the room.

Like Hood, Gray likes what he’s seen of the group – especially Hughes. Gray was the defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings when they drafted Hughes in the first round in 2018, and he said Hughes resembles the player who was in Minnesota before injuries affected the early stages of career of the 27-year-old.

Another player who has impressed Gray is second-year pro Anthony Johnson, who spent part of last season on the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad, where Hood was a defensive quality control coach. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Johnson, nicknamed “AJ2” by his coaches, will be a good player, Gray thinks.

Phillips, Hughes and Johnson make up Atlanta’s best outside corners behind Terrell. At nickel, Gray believes Alford is taking the next step in his progression, and the 26-year-old has put a strong hold on the spot this summer.

There may not be a shiny new face, but Hood believes there are some successful options.

“We feel very comfortable with the young men we have in this room, their ability to come in and compete, understand the game plan or what we’re trying to accomplish at a high level,” Hood said.

But Atlanta’s secondary question extends beyond cornerback.

The Falcons have one of the best safeties in the game with Jessie Bates III, a Pro Bowler and All-Pro last season after leading the team with 132 tackles and six interceptions.

Competition exists next to Bates, with ascending second-year pro DeMarcco Hellams looking well-positioned to win the starting job, but Richie Grant remains in the picture. Hellams took the majority of first-team reps during OTAs and minicamps, with Grant rotating for a smaller portion.

Morris previously said he owed Grant an apology because he wasn’t familiar with the former UCF star’s skillset when he arrived, but now views him as a strong piece. Hood is also highly regarded by Hellams, citing his intelligence, work ethic and practice habits.

The room belongs to Bates, but during training camp, all eyes will be on the spot next to him. Hood believes there are a lot of positives to come out of the start of the summer.

“I like the guys’ mentality,” Hood said. “It’s across the board. I think Jessie obviously sets the tone, being the most accomplished or established guy in the room, but at the same time you have a guy like Richie, who has played a lot of football. “Marcco comes in, who has played a lot of football, and then the other guys can come in and compete.”

At safety, these “other guys” are led by Micah Abernathy, who played in 12 games a season ago and is the favorite to be the team’s fourth safety this fall. Other suitors include six-year veteran Dane Cruikshank, who signed with the team after trying out May 10 at rookie minicamp, and Tre Tarpley III, a returning practice squad member. last year, among others.

With multiple spots open, every day, every practice is a battle – which is exactly what Hood wants.

“The most important thing for me will be the competition,” Hood said. “And these guys understand that. So throughout the offseason and OTAs, it’s just these guys can come in and learn the scheme and understand what we’re asking them to do and then go execute so they can do their best when they cross the lines, it’s based on competition.”

With seven safeties and 11 cornerbacks currently on the 90-man roster, Atlanta’s defensive backs room will look a lot different in Week 1, when the roster is trimmed to 53 players.

Currently, Gray is seeing Bates, Terrell and numerous veterans, and this is ultimately what the room could look like when the Falcons take the field in the fall. But Bates, conversely, sees a plethora of young players.

Bates acknowledged that some of these young players, like undrafted rookies Trey Vaval and Jayden Price, may not get their chance in Atlanta, but by the time they leave, he hopes they recognize the standard set in the room.

What is the standard? It’s simple, Gray says: To be the best.

“These guys know they’re competing, but they’re doing it in a way so we can get better,” Gray said during OTAs. “We’re not competing against each other; we’re competing to be the best secondary in the league. And that’s the standard these guys want to set.”

Morris and Lake bring to Atlanta some of the defensive principles they had with the Los Angeles Rams last season, led by more zone coverage after the Falcons were among the league leaders in man coverage ago. has a season.

The new defensive staff emphasizes the need for each player to do their respective job and to trust the 10 others on the field. This is a particularly relevant request for the secondary, which Hellams believes is the backbone of the defense.

Defensive backs can be the brains of the operation, Hellams noted, because they see the field from the broadest perspective. They can adjust calls and, under Lake, take on a more communicative role.

With the growing importance of secondary players under Morris, the lack of a big-name addition becomes more questionable – but Hellams sees things differently.

“It’s definitely something that guys looked at and said, ‘Okay, if that’s what Rah and Lake and Terry did, then obviously that shows what they think of us,'” said Hellams in mid-May. “They feel like the guys in this room can make it happen, and all the guys in this room feel the same way. So it wasn’t a surprise when no one was recruited in the DB room.

“It was just another look at each other like, ‘Okay, we know what we said before: We have everything we have, we have everything we need.’ “

The Falcons, Morris pointed out after the draft, added a few defensive backs in free agency, with veterans Antonio Hamilton Sr. and Kevin King.

Hamilton was not present at the start of the OTAs, and upon his return he was Alford’s replacement at Nickel. King, meanwhile, worked under Gray in 2020 and 2021 with the Packers, but hasn’t played a single game since; he missed the 2022 season for personal reasons and tore his Achilles tendon during offseason training in 2023.

Atlanta added Johnson and Cruikshank a few weeks after the draft and signed veteran corner Harrison Hand after the final practice of mandatory minicamp on June 11.

But the top of the Falcons defensive backs room doesn’t appear ready to change in the immediate future, and Alford views the offseason moves — or lack thereof — as a vote of confidence.

“As a person, it makes you feel like, ‘Okay, they really believe in this DB group,’ and we know that,” Alford said May 21. “We won’t let anyone down. We will continue to improve and continue to build.”

The Falcons have five more weeks of summer break before returning to training camp. They don’t have a starting secondary listed, but barring injuries, know this: Bates and Terrell will lead anyone with them.

After two and a half months of offseason training, Bates said the defensive backs were very tight. Some may think that there is still one or two pieces missing. Bates is not one of them.

“There will always be Twitter GMs everywhere, but if we trust ourselves in the group we already have — which we do — it doesn’t matter who’s on the ground,” Bates said during the OTAs. “The standard will be the standard of our DB room.”