Not every player in the NFL sets the league on fire overnight. Not everyone is a Bijan Robinson or Patrick Mahomes where they have "superstar" written across their forehead in Sharpie. Most players have to fight tooth and nail for a shot to prove themselves and even then have to hold on for dear life.
Some of the best stories in the NFL come from undrafted free agency, and those are the players who have the most to gain (and lose) in training camp. There is such a mystery to some of these UDFAs, and the Atlanta Falcons have one who's coming back with a vengeance after missing all of 2025.
The Falcons signed safety Malik Verdon in undrafted free agency last year, but he missed his entire rookie year since his practice window was never opened after being placed on the non-football injury list. But if training camp is any indication, Verdon may be the Batman of Atlanta's defense in 2026.
Malik Verdon will enter training camp with a chance to do real damage
And it seems like I'm not the only one who feels this way. While going over some takeaways from mandatory minicamp, Atlantafalcons.com's Will McFadden labeled Verdon as a player to watch at training camp because the Falcons are in the midst of changing his position from safety to linebacker.
"Malik Verdon is an interesting name to keep in mind at linebacker for training camp," McFadden wrote. "He is one of the few players on Atlanta's roster who is comparable in size to Divine Deablo, which makes him valuable as a depth piece who could fill a similar role. Rookie Kendal Daniels, who is recovering from injury, also fits this description."
I guess having two converted safeties in Divine Deablo and fourth-round rookie Kendal Daniels isn't enough for Jeff Ulbrich. Since the Dirty Birds are rolling with the same defensive staff, the 23-year-old has the continuity to fight for a role given he's precisely what Ulbrich looks for in a linebacker.
McFadden noted that he's very similar in size to Deablo and Daniels, and that could make him a valuable depth asset should one of them go down. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he's a freak athlete who can play a hybrid nickel role, but he'll have to prove himself in training camp and the preseason.
The issue for the Iowa State product is that he has a lot of competition to make the roster. The Falcons are dealing with a major logjam at linebacker between Christian Harris, Harold Perkins Jr., Channing Tindall, Troy Andersen, and even JD Bertrand behind Deablo and the injured Daniels.
Malik Verdon is still very much an unknown entity to Falcons fans, but his physical gifts alone will give him a chance to make some noise in training camp.
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