Five Atlanta Falcons who have been missing in 2023
Every NFL team has its fair share of surprising contributors and disappointments. The Atlanta Falcons had lofty expectations for many of their players and while most of them have delivered, there are still a few names that you might have forgotten about.
The good news is that we still have a lot of season left and some will start to emerge from their cave. Think about rookie RB Tyler Allgeier last season; he was inactive in week one and didn't really hit the ground running until midseason.
Needless to say, there is still time for these players to make their name known but so far this season, they have been missing in action.
1. Mike Hughes - CB/PR
Former first-round pick Mike Hughes signed a decent contract to join the Atlanta Falcons this past offseason. He is a versatile player who has played in the slot and on the boundary as a corner and has been a decent special teams piece.
However, Hughes has been a big disappointment in every facet of the game. He has played hardly any snaps on defense and has done next to nothing as the primary punt returner.
With Dee Alford playing well on defense, getting production from Hughes as a returner should be the number one priority.
2. Scotty Miller - WR/PR
Speaking of punt returners, Scotty Miller has been another player who has done nothing on his side of the ball and on special teams for the Atlanta Falcons.
Miller came to Atlanta with the expectation that he would be a verticle threat. That has yet to happen, which is partially not his fault. Even then, he hasn't even done anything five yards down the field as he doesn't even have a catch in the first three games.
Perhaps, he will become a sneaky playmaker later in the season but, for now, it looks like he won't live up to his one-year contract.
He has also handled a few punt returns and done absolutely nothing. Clearly, losing Avery Williams has had a huge impact on the Falcons special teams unit.
3. Arnold Ebiketie & DeAngelo Malone, EDGE
Basically, the entire edge rusher position for the Atlanta Falcons has done absolutely nothing. While I never expected them to be dominant, I certainly expected them to make a play here and there.
Honestly, Bud Dupree is the only player at the position who has had his name called during games and he hasn't even been that great. Lorenzo Carter does have a sack but he hasn't done much outside of his lone stat.
Arnold Ebiketie is really a disappointment for me. We have big expectations for the second-round pick but he hasn't done much since early last season. We can only hope that he turns things around soon because the Falcons really need him to produce to have a consistent defense.
DeAngelo Malone was never going to be a huge contributor this season but we want to see him get some live reps and develop. He has yet to play a single snap on defense this season.
4. Ta'Quon Graham - DT
Just like Mike Tirico said in week one about the Lions' win over the Chiefs, this has a big asterisk next to it. Ta'Quon Graham is coming off of a significant injury and he is certainly not fully healthy quite yet—so, take this all with a grain of salt.
Ta'Quon Graham is in a much different position than he was in last season. No longer is he expected to be one of the two top guys along the defensive line, that goes to David Onyemata who has been spectacular.
Hopefully, he will continue to get healthy and start making some impact plays on the limited snaps that he will play. He just needs to get back to the level where he can give Onyemata and Grady Jarrett some snaps off during a game.