Atlanta Falcons Defensive Projection for each position group
Safeties and Team Totals
Keanu Neal
83 tackles, 5 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, 6 pass deflections, 1 defensive touchdown
Ricardo Allen
35 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 3 interceptions, 2 pass deflections
Damontae Kazee
23 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery,1 interception, 2 pass deflections
Jordan Richards
4 tackles
Keanu Neal made the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2017. Known as an enforcer, Neal has turned into one of the best coverage safeties in the league, especially when matched up against opposing tight ends. I look forward to much of the same this season. Damontae Kazee flashed the ability to be everywhere the ball was all over the field during the preseason. If he can take the next step, he could have a similar role on this defense as Tyrann Mathieu when he played for the Cardinals and give the Falcons the best safety trio in the league.
Team Totals
640 tackles, 20 forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries, 49 sacks, 21 interceptions, 68 pass deflections, 1 safety, 4 defensive touchdowns
33 total takeaways
| 2018 Atlanta Falcons Defense Projection | |||||||||||
| Def Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
| Player | POS | Tackles | Int | TD | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sk | Sfty | Def TD |
| Beasley | DE | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9.5 | 0 | 0 |
| McKinley | DE | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| Reed | DE | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Shelby | DE | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jarrett | DT | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| McClain | DT | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Senat | DT | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Crawford | DT | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Zimmer | DT | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jones, D | LB | 89 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Campbell | LB | 65 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Riley | LB | 33 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ishmael | LB | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oluokun | LB | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trufant | CB | 31 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Alford | CB | 41 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oliver | CB | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Poole | CB | 19 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilson | CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bethel | CB | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neal | SS | 83 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Allen | FS | 35 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kazee | FS | 23 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richards | SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | 640 | 21 | 1 | 68 | 20 | 13 | 3 | 49 | 1 | 4 |
*POS (Position), Int (Interception), FF (Forced Fumble), FR (Fumble Recovery), TD (Touchdown), PD (Pass deflection), SK (Sack), Sfty (Safety)
Overall the sky is the limit for this defense. They are one of the fastest units in the league and have quietly turned into one of the best against the pass. With the offense expected to bounce back, this defense should play with more leads which means the pass rush should get home more and the defensive backs and linebackers can make more plays with the ball in the air.