What we learned from Atlanta Falcons rookie minicamp

The Atlanta Falcons held their rookie minicamp this past weekend and by all accounts, everything went well and their first round draft picks looked like first round draft picks.

Lots of content was generated from all over the Atlanta Falcons spectrum after rookies got together in Flowery Branch, but what exactly did we learn?

Nothing. The real answer is nothing; we learned nothing from watching a group of inexperienced professional football players take the field in shorts. Without the veteran presence there setting the tone for speed and pace, this was nothing more than early spring practice for college guys that are five months removed from their last game.

No one will know anything about these rookies until minicamp takes place June 11-13. Sure, there are OTA’s over the next few weeks and guys will get to go 7-on-7 and 11-on-11, but no contact can be had. However, they will all get a taste of what NFL speed actually means.

June minicamp and of course, training camp is where we will find out just how good and more importantly what impact both the drafted and undrafted rookies may possibly have in 2019. The better news is by playing in the Hall of Fame game in 2019, the Falcons will be among the first to get to camp.

Official training camp start dates for all teams is usually not released until June.

While it is great for teams to get rookies under contract and into their buildings as soon as possible, the biggest benefit is so that these young men can start to assimilate into the franchise culture and the NFL way of doing things. Getting them set up with the NFL training regimen and nutrition is very important as these guys will be behind veterans in this regard come training camp.

It is absurd to think we saw anything other than this from a group of rookies putting on an NFL jersey for the first time. That said, we all agree that July cannot get here fast enough!