The Atlanta Falcons have officially kicked off their first of two joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of their second preseason matchup on Saturday afternoon. Kevin Stefanski's squad is enjoying what the Hoosier State has to offer across the next few days before locking in this weekend.
However, the Falcons have embarked on a bit of a roster shuffle across the last couple of weeks, and their existing depth chart is facing more questions than the finale of Lost. But many of those questions were answered as their second unofficial depth chart released before practice started.
Not much changed from the first unofficial depth chart to warrant doing another position-by-position, but there were enough changes to the roster itself to warrant doing a smaller-scale deep dive into some of the most interesting aspects of the new depth chart.
What changed on the Atlanta Falcons' second unofficial depth chart of the summer?
Cooper Rush, not Jack Strand, will get the start
Ted Lasso himself says to believe, but there has to be a limit to that sentiment when we watched how awful Cooper Rush looked last Friday night. 7 of 19 passing, 62 yards, two interceptions (and a pick-six) saw him complete less than 40% of his passes and record a passer rating in the single digits.
Meanwhile, Jack Strand completed 50% of his passes, showed nice poise, and was responsible for Atlanta's only scoring drive of the game... and he's getting punished for it? This is an undrafted rookie who had never played a down of NFL (or D1) football in his life and he clearly out-performed the vet.
However, Rush was still listed ahead of Strand on the unofficial depth chart, and it appears that he's in line to get the start on Saturday night with the starters not playing.... And all I can say about that is I'm not sure what dirt Cooper Rush has on this coaching staff when he's clearly the lesser quarterback.
Jawaan Taylor is back in the starting lineup
During the Falcons' last unofficial depth chart, Jawaan Taylor was listed at the bottom since he was still ramping up in his return. He was activated from active/PUP and is now a full go in practice, taking part in 11-on-11s, so the biggest change on the depth chart came by reflecting his official return.
This bumped all of Michael Jerrell, Brandon Walton, and Ethan Onianwa down the depth chart, and we'll get to that in a minute. But having an actual NFL-caliber starter protecting Tua Tagovailoa's blind side is going to pay dividends.
What is going on with Ethan Onianwa?
Speaking of Onianwa, he was listed as the fourth-string tackle behind Taylor, Jerrell, and Walton. But it wasn't all that long ago he was getting the bulk of the first-team reps in practice. So something doesn't add up given the seventh-round rookie's progress suddenly took a massive nosedive.
It was tough sledding for him against the Broncos to the point he didn't even look like an NFL-caliber tackle. But Jerrell was called for three penalties, so he wasn't any better. He was always going to be a long-term dart throw, so there's no reason for the Falcons to give up on him now.
Za'Darius Smith's placement is only temporary
The big change on this depth chart was Za'Darius Smith's presence, as the Falcons agreed to terms on a one-year, $6 million deal with Stefanski's old friend, even bringing him out of retirement to do so. Yeah, you read that right, they were that desperate for contributors off the edge they signed a man fresh off the couch.
So as you would expect, he was listed as a fifth-string edge rusher, behind the suspended James Pearce Jr. and Keshawn Banks, as well as Azeez Ojulari and Cameron Thomas. But obviously, he won't stay there, as Banks may not make the roster and could lap Ojulari and Thomas as well.
He's expected to be a key part of this EDGE rotation, but it's foolish to label him a starter with a handful of practices under his belt. You gotta make him earn it.
Kam Dewberry stepped into the backup right guard spot
In terms of actual changes on the depth chart, Undrafted rookie Kam Dewberry was one of the one of the biggest winners. Last time around, he was the third-string right guard, but Layden Robinson's release turned into a stroke of good news for him, as it helped rise up the depth chart.
He's now listed as the backup right guard behind Chris Lindstrom, with Jaedan Roberts his only competition for the position. He's essentially running unopposed, so his roster hopes feel more real than you would expect.
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