Jase McClellan out, 11 tries

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons began rookie minicamp Friday, providing an opportunity for their new crop of first-year players to get acclimated before OTAs begin Monday.

But the Falcons were without one of their eight rookies, with sixth-round running back Jase McClellan missing from practice due to a pre-existing injury during the pre-draft process. He is present at Flowery Branch but has trained indoors.

Yet Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said before the session began that he was mostly unaware of the draft picks over the three-day period — he watched them on tape for months, said – he said – and that he focused instead on tryouts and undrafted free agents.

Atlanta, which currently has 86 players on its roster, hosted four veterans for tryouts, including former Tennessee Titans safety Dane Cruikshank, former Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker David Anenih, former defensive end New York Jets Bradlee Anae and former Dallas Cowboys tight end Sean McKeon. Morris, when discussing the veterans’ trials, took note of Anae during his press conference.

The Falcons also welcomed seven recruits to their facility – Bowling Green State wide receiver OJ Hillaire, Western Kentucky cornerback Davion Williams, Villanova linebacker Daniel Abraham, Missouri Western State offensive lineman Keith Russell, Florida State offensive lineman Casey Roddick, North Alabama outside linebacker Phillip Ossai and Eastern Michigan wide receiver Dylan Drummond.

For Morris, the rookie minicamp period is a time to ease the transition into the organization while gaining valuable insight on tryout players.

“My main goal is to get them acclimated, the guys we drafted and the undrafted free agents we signed,” Morris said. “Just keeping up with the pace and the flow of what we’ve been doing. And then the next thing is giving the picks some real opportunities to put some things on tape that we can look at and evaluate from a team standpoint. coach and recruiters to add people to our football team.

Atlanta’s rookie minicamp, which features 39 players total, ends Sunday.