Atlanta Falcons secondary leading the way after first week of camp

The biggest question mark for the Atlanta Falcons coming into 2019 was the defensive secondary. Early returns in training camp suggestions that this group is ready to perform at an elite level.

The group with the most eyes on it has been the secondary. Sure, it is only practice for the Atlanta Falcons. There are going to be good days and bad days for every player. The first week of practice, the players should have a lot of energy and should look good.

This year’s secondary understands the fate of this team’s success starts and ends with them. Demontae Kazee turned a lot of heads in 2018 with his seven interceptions. Desmond Trufant was one of the leagues best corners the final 12 weeks of the season. Injuries to Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal were devastating to say the least.

How will they all respond and regroup was a huge question.

Thomas Dimitroff had concerns too and decided to address them in the off-season. Signing J.J. Wilcox as depth at Safety and then drafting Jordan Miller out of Washington and Kendall Sheffield out of Ohio State, sent the message that depth and injuries were not going to be an excuse in 2019.

Yes, Wilcox is now out for the year, but the early returns for the secondary have been fantastic the first week of training camp.

Ricardo Allen has talked about the energy being different and Kazee is showing out as the new nickel corner, he has four interceptions this week.

Desmond Trufant pre-2016 injury was a top five corner in the NFL and since he returned in 2017, we have waited for him to get back to that same player. He had a rough start to 2018 and many were ready to cut bait and move on. However, Tru was among the best corners the final three months of the season and according to Pro Football Focus was the best tackling corner in the NFL during that same time frame.

If Tru has turned the corner and get complete the catch on the myriad of deflections and pass break ups that he has had, he can lead this secondary to another level and one they have not seen in decades, if ever.

Yes, the secondary has a lot of pressure on them, but they have the talent to realize their potential and lead the Falcons back to the Super Bowl.