Position battles have become a bit of a trend for the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. The QB competition between Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa has been at the forefront of every offseason discussion, but the bigger concern will be who will be protecting their blind side.
After Kaleb McGary's retirement, the Falcons are in serious flux at the right tackle position. They signed Jawaan Taylor to a one-year deal to replace him, but I guess the injury curse was passed on. He's already banged up, and Atlanta is in no position to have to start another Elijah Wilkinson at RT.
It feels like a curse you would see in a horror movie. Atlanta's right right tackle room is basically a revolving door, and they need as much stability at the position as they can get. The reason Penix tore his ACL is because of a missed block from Wilkinson, and a plan in place at the position is imperative.
Jawaan Taylor's injury complicates the Falcons' right tackle competition
While addressing the media prior to Day 1 of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, Kevin Stefanski did provide an update on Taylor. He didn't go into specifics on the injury or how long he'll be sidelined, but he said that he's been at walkthroughs and will continue to do more and more into the summer break.
He's doing a very good job," Stefanski said. "He'll be out.  You'll see him at walkthroughs, and he's continuing to be able to do more and more. ... Jawaan's a pro. Very intelligent. He's picking everything up; just not ready yet to do too much."
But until he returns, the Dirty Birds are dealing with some issues at the position. Storm Norton was placed on reserve/PUP and may miss all of 2026, which means Jack Nelson, seventh-round rookie Ethan Onianwa, Michael Jerrell, and the newly-acquired Wanya Morris are taking over in the interim.
However, it's not that cut-and-dry. Though he's expected to be a swing tackle, Morris reportedly saw more work at left tackle on Tuesday. And Falcons' beat reporter Will McFadden revealed that Jerrell, who was virtually unplayable in limited action in 2025, has been getting a better look at right tackle.
"With Taylor out of the group work for now, third-year pro Michael Jerrell, whom the Falcons acquired late in training camp last year, has been getting a good look at right tackle,"
Onianwa got some first-team reps in Taylor's absence last week, but it appears he and Nelson are depth options for OL coach Bill Callahan to consider. But I can't imagine Taylor's Week 1 status is in jeopardy.
Ideally the Falcons are just managing Jawaan Taylor's reps, but until he returns, they have far more questions than answers at right tackle.
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