Atlanta Falcons: 3 position battles to watch

The Atlanta Falcons secondary has been a weak point for years. With the safety group up in the air, it’s less than ideal that the next group that needs to be discussed is corner. AJ Terrell had a promising rookie season and if he continues to develop as expected he will be a true number one corner. After Terrell is where the questions begin.

The Atlanta Falcons are returning Isaiah Oliver and Kendall Sheffield from the 2020 roster. Both struggled for large parts of the season but Oliver showed signs of improving once he moved from the outside to the slot. The new coaching staff has mentioned they like what they saw out of Oliver on the inside so he should get a shot to win the starting gig. Sheffield will probably only be expected to be a depth piece.

The Atlanta Falcons also added Fabian Moreau from Washington this off-season.

After spending a lot of time as the Football Teams slot corner, he eventually moved to the outside where he played much better down the stretch. With the way, the roster looks to shake out the most likely option for Moreau is to start on the outside opposite Terrell.

The Falcons addressed corner in the draft as well with the additions of Darren Hall and Avery Williams. Williams will provide depth early but will be most valuable as a potentially elite return man and if Arthur Smith is to be believed an all-around gadget player.

Hall is the more interesting player on day one when it comes to the corner room. He has experience all over the secondary, both inside and outside corner as well as some time at safety. Ideally, he’ll provide immediate depth and be a long-term option for this defense.

Much like safety, there are potentially two new starters at corner for the Falcons in 2021 depending on how the slot position shakes out. There are also plenty of depth concerns, with an injury immediately forcing the team into a tough position deciding between an underperforming veteran or an unproven rookie.

One additional aspect of this corner room to keep an eye on during training is Isiah Oliver’s contract. If any of the newcomers beat Oliver for that slot position he quickly becomes an expendable asset as moving on from him would open up just over two million in cap space for 2021.

The Atlanta Falcons will have at least two new starting offensive lineman, two new starting safeties, new starters at tight end, running back, and at least one corner position. With that much turnover expecting this team to gel early is a tall order and the Atlanta Falcons coaching staff has a lot on their hands to get ready.