Players who played too many snaps for the Atlanta Falcons in 2022
There are players that fans love and then there are players that fans don’t love. Much of the time the players who aren’t loved are the ones that are overused. The Atlanta Falcons had a few of those players, without a doubt.
For whatever reason, these three players were on the field more than they should have been. Sometimes it comes down to the team not having any backup options, nevertheless, even if they don’t have any clear backups there are usually a couple of other players who deserve a chance to prove they can play.
After all, the definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.
For the Falcons, one player, in particular, played too many snaps, and I am sure you can figure out who that is. The rookie backup definitely should have taken the field well before he did. The other two were younger players who simply were not getting things done.
Every team has this issue, it is a sport where you have a lot of positions and a lot of injuries—it is bound to happen.
1. Cornell Armstrong, CB, Atlanta Falcons
The cornerback position was tough for the Atlanta Falcons in 2022. They went into the season hoping to have A.J. Terrell and Casey Hayward on the boundaries, but injuries messed that all up.
Darren Hall, for a few weeks, was pressed into being the top corner and he was decent but the real problem came on the opposite side. Cornell Armstrong played a lot of snaps for a few weeks with Rashad Fenton getting the snaps for one game, and they were both quite bad.
Then later in the season they essentially benched Darren Hall for Armstrong. Armstrong played nearly a third of the snaps on defense.
The Falcons should have readjusted with the injuries. For example, when Terrell and Hayward were out, try playing Isaiah Oliver on the outside like he used to with Dee Alford in the slot. There were other options available for the coaches.
2. Marcus Mariota, QB, Atlanta Falcons
The man, the myth, and the non-legend; Marcus Mariota. Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot signed Marcus to what was a two-year deal with an opt-out after one year, and thank goodness they did because it was not a pretty year for the former second-overall pick.
He was perhaps the most inaccurate quarterback in the NFL during the 13 games he started. It didn’t take long for it to become clear that he definitely was not going to fill the hole at quarterback for the Falcons.
However, despite that, Arthur Smith was adamant about keeping him as QB1, until he wasn’t but by then it was way too late. Desmond Ridder should have gotten a chance well before the late bye week—it would have given the team more to evaluate this offseason, given Ridder more reps to figure things out, and given the team a better shot at winning.
3. Ade Ogundeji, OLB, Atlanta Falcons
There was nothing that was going to fix the Atlanta Falcons’ pass rush this past season, but keeping Ade Ogundeji as the starter every week was not the smartest decision.
Ogundeji did nothing in most of the games he played. While he was getting rotated with others, he still had the second-most snaps at the position, behind Lorenzo Carter. Arnold Ebiketie should have taken over for him at some point.
Ebiketie showed more promise than Ogundeji ever did this past season. Ade only had two sacks, three tackles for loss, and one quarterback hit this past year but somehow started every single game. Meanwhile, Ebiketie played about 30 fewer snaps and had two-and-a-half sacks, three tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hits.
One quarterback hit vs. 11 quarterback hits, it seems to be no contest, which is why it was so maddening to see the second-year player starting over the rookie each week.