3 Atlanta Falcons to watch closely in week one against the Saints

2. A.J. Terrell

Outside of whether or not the defense can consistently get pressure on the quarterback the most interesting part of the Atlanta defense will be star corner A.J. Terrell.  Terrell now has the most help he has had in the Atlanta secondary in his young career, with this in mind, how will Atlanta utilize the young corner? Will Terrell play man coverage and shadow whomever Atlanta deems to be the Saints’ biggest threat? Or will the team rely on their scheme having their corners stay in position regardless of who they are lined up against?

How much respect Winston shows Terrell and how Atlanta utilizes him will be fascinating to watch for an Atlanta defense that finally has a star player. Grady Jarrett has an argument as a star as well but as a defensive tackle cannot impact the game as consistently as Terrell can in a passing league.

The Atlanta defense showed an increased effort and notable players took steps forward. After an off-season of improvement have the Falcons finally put together a respectable secondary around Terrell? Camp and the preseason both gave promising answers to this question but until week one kicks off and meaningful games are underway it is impossible to know just how big of a step forward this unit might take.