Initial Atlanta Falcons depth chart has several surprises

Atlanta Falcons released their first official depth chart of the 2020 season.

Now that the Atlanta Falcons have their initial 53 man roster set, the team also released their first official depth chart and there are a couple surprises.

There weren’t a lot of surprises on the Falcons initial roster. Of course, we have liked to have seen several different choices as far as depth pieces – like Kurt Benkert kept over Matt Schaub – but no one should have been shocked by the guys kept by the club.

However, the initial depth chart does have several surprises and ones that some probably did not expect to see.

Running backs

There were no surprises in that Todd Gurley is the starter. However, Brian Hill beating out Ito Smith to backup Gurley as well as Qadree Ollison not being listed altogether are big surprises.

Ito Smith seems destined to be the third down receiving back to start the year, which is odd since he has played better than Hill the last two seasons when he’s been healthy.

Given that Ito Smith and Brian Hill bring essentially the same skillset that Todd Gurley does, it is shocking to see Ollison not third on the depth chart.

While he was inactive for the first eight games in 2019, he ended up being a great short-yardage and goal-line running back. He had 12 carries inside the red zone a year ago – he scored four touchdowns and picked up five first downs. Compare that to a guy like Leonard Fournette who had every single carry for the Jaguars in the red zone a year ago (46 total rushes) and had just three touchdowns and five first downs.

Left Guard

This might be the most shocking of them all.

It looked like rookie Matt Hennessy had won the starting left guard spot and instead it will be James Carpenter again.

Not only is this the most shocking but it is the most disappointing by far. A year ago, this Atlanta Falcons offensive line was absolute trash for many reasons – talent, injuries, no chemistry. This year we are all hoping that Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary can solidify the right side while Jake Matthews and Hennessy would improve the left.

Instead, we are getting what we saw last year in Matthews and Carpenter which was below average at best last season and Matthews was not the issue.

Defensive tackle

The defensive line appears to have shaken out like most expected. Takk McKinley, Grady Jarrett, Tyeler Davison, and Dante Fowler Jr are all starters while Allen Bailey, Marlon Davidson, John Cominsky, and  Jacob Tuioti-Mariner are all listed as their immediate backups.

So, what is the surprise?

The surprise is the fact that third-year defensive tackle Deadrin Senat is still listed on a Falcons depth chart at this point.

Dan Quinn loved him coming out South Florida and he had moments his rookie year where everyone thought he was going to a great tandem with Jarrett for years to come. However, 2019 saw him take less than a handful of snaps and there hasn’t even been a murmur with his name in it over the last six months.

It will be an even bigger shock to see him take the field in 2020 for the Atlanta Falcons.