Atlanta Falcons DB Dee Alford ‘Taken Another Step’ With Big Role Impending

As Jerry Gray ponders the question, his mind drifts back to the past.

Gray, the Atlanta Falcons assistant head coach and defensive back who also helps in the secondary, mentally returned to his three-year tenure as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive backs coach.

It’s May 22, and Gray is preparing his thoughts on Falcons third-year cornerback Dee Alford — but to accurately describe Alford, Gray feels a comparison is necessary: ​​Packers corner and return specialist All- Pro Keisean Nixon.

Gray’s final year in Green Bay — 2022 — was Nixon’s first. When Gray left, Nixon began working closely with several coaches, including quality control coach Justin Hood, who the Falcons hired as secondary coach this spring.

The result, Gray said, is a two-year process of continued growth for Nixon — a process in which Gray believes was mirrored by Alford.

“Good football player, he really hadn’t done much, and then all of a sudden you’re thrown into the scene,” Gray said last week. “He started coming early, filming, understanding what he was supposed to do. The first year he was fine, then last year I thought Keisean took a big step under Justin.”

Alford followed a similar path. He went undrafted by Tusculum in 2020, but instead signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. His lone season in Winnipeg earned him CFL All-Star honors, and he left for the Falcons during the 2022 season.

Alford, 5-foot-11, 177 pounds, entered training camp as a little-known player. He came away as one of the best stories of the summer — and with a spot on Atlanta’s 53-man roster.

Yet once the season began, Alford was no longer in the spotlight. He appeared in 16 games, missing a Week 7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals with a hamstring injury, but played only 23 percent of the Falcons’ defensive snaps.

The Griffin, Ga., native finished his season opener with 25 tackles, seven passes defensed and an interception – a game-changing showing in Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns.

Alford entered the 2023 offseason looking for a bigger role and found it; he was the Falcons’ starter out of camp, a role he held for the first 13 games.

But over the final four games of the season, Alford saw his snaps decline as Atlanta’s season progressed. He played 10 snaps in a Week 17 loss to the Chicago Bears, his only defensive action during the four-game stretch, while Mike Hughes took over the starting job at Nickel.

Alford, 26, who also returned 20 punts for the Falcons last season, compiled 41 tackles, two tackles for loss and six passes defensed.

Due to his apparent late-season defensive benching, Alford began this offseason at a crossroads. Under a new team led by Hood, head coach Raheem Morris and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake, Alford has taken direction — and Gray, who is back for his second season in Atlanta, thinks it ‘is positive.

“I think Dee Alford has taken the next step,” Gray said.

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For Alford, such an approach has little to do with his physical characteristics. Gray often tells Alford that he is the quarterback of the defense and should act that way, encouraging him to make calls and put others in better positions to make plays.

After a year together, Gray knows how to push the right buttons with returning players like Alford. Such conversations do just that, and Gray believes he challenged Alford to know what everyone else on the defense is doing and help them in their roles, which eliminates selfishness in his own job.

And by all accounts, Alford delivered.

“You have to take the next step, and the way you take it isn’t going to be running faster, it’s going to use your brain faster,” Gray said. “I think that’s the step he’s taking right now.”

Alford spent part of this spring playing basketball, something Gray encouraged each of his defensive backs to do to help train their eyes. Alford plays with two sophomore corners in Clark Phillips III and Natrone Brooks at a local gym; the trio recently took down a team made up of players from the Georgia State men’s basketball team.

Hitting the hardwood has several translatable aspects for secondary players, with Alford noting that rebounding is like pointing the ball high and playing defense is like staying in front of receivers in man coverage and out technique.

But it also makes communication easier, whether it’s calling screens or barking calls. As the Falcons near the end of OTAs, Alford finds himself as a key communicator on the back end of Lake’s defense, which he says is the biggest difference between last year and this year.

The task itself doesn’t represent a drastic change for Alford, but it nonetheless represents an extreme responsibility, and he embraces the challenge because he recognizes that his voice can take Atlanta’s defense to another level.

“Every play, I’m communicating with the linebackers, the safeties, the D-line, just different guys all around,” Alford said last week. “We all come in with the mindset of, ‘It’s just a defense.’ We want to be able to line up quickly, play fast, play freely and play physical.

“When players are able to line up and not think, you’re able to play fast, and then you’ll see more plays being able to be made.”

The Falcons were expected to add to their secondary in the NFL Draft, but did not; Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot said they wanted to, but the timing never worked out.

As such, Alford is back in a similar situation to last year – competing with Hughes and others for the nickel job. Morris mentioned during the league’s owners’ meetings in March that Alford could also see some time at safety.

But no matter where he lines up, Alford figures to be a prominent member of Atlanta’s secondary. He feels support from the front office and coaching staff, influenced by the decision to pass on competition in the draft.

Alford said he didn’t pay much attention to these things, but it still left a positive mark on him. He is committed to not disappointing any of the decision makers and intends to improve and strengthen the foundations that have been built.

Now, Alford’s goal is to help the Falcons secondary take the next step, not just his own personal progression — precisely the selfless mentality Gray preached this spring.

“I’m just on the same page,” Alford said. “Just being free, being able to communicate and say one thing to this guy and rely on him to be there. Just continuing to build on the trust that we were building on last year and taking this forward confidence during the third year.

“If we do all those kinds of things, everything will fall into place and more plays will be made from the secondary.”

As Alford grows, so will the Falcons secondary — and if OTAs are any indication, Atlanta’s back line is trending favorably as the summer progresses.

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