Finding Falcons is a series that ventures beyond Atlanta's decision to draft a specific player and reveals the why behind doing so. Exclusive interviews with Falcons position coaches, area scouts and the decision-makers at the top detail the moments that solidified the decision to draft each of the men who make up their 2024 draft class. For the next few weeks, we'll tell those stories.
Last week, we explored why the Falcons took notice of a disruptive Brandon Dorlus at Oregon. This week, a kid from Alpharetta, Ga. joins up with his hometown team.
Story by Tori McElhaney
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – It was in the dog days of August camp life when Falcons area scout Ryan Doyal made his way to South Bend, Ind. He was doing what scouts are known to do during this time of year: Keep an eye out and report back.
On a visit to Notre Dame, Doyal did exactly that, ultimately laying the foundation of the Falcons' connection to their would-be selection at pick No. 143 in the 2024 NFL Draft, JD Bertrand.
Doyal had quite a few notes on Bertrand already. Having watched him play the year before, Doyal liked what he saw from the Fighting Irish linebacker. It wasn't until that August practice started, though, that Doyal really felt sold on Bertrand.
He was, as Doyal put it, flying around the football field in a practice, already in mid-season form well before the season began.
"He's just going at a different pace and a different speed," Doyal recalled.
There was a certain passion for the game Bertrand showed that stood out to Doyal. It was a passion that never really faded, regardless of circumstance. The same intensity Doyal saw from Bertrand that August was on display from the first Saturday of the season to the last.
More than that, this intensity lingered well after the pads were off and the helmets discarded for the offseason.
"I saw it the entire way through the (pre-draft) process," Doyal said. "Really all the way straight through to the end."
During this time, Falcons inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud had a stack of player film to review as he settled into his new office in Flowery Branch, Ga. Bertrand was towards the top.
"The No. 1 thing that popped out to me when I was evaluating JD was how complete his game was," Ruud explained. "He didn't have holes in his game."
Sure, there were probably more athletic players running around the gridiron, Ruud said. But when it came to natural instinct and consistency? You'd be hard pressed to find someone that outshined Bertrand in those areas.
Bertrand could do everything that was asked of him, and he could do it well. Play the run, play the pass, call the defense, rush the passer, play all three downs, take proper angles to match the path of ball carriers. Ruud believes this well-roundedness fueled Bertrand's production at Notre Dame.
He led the team in tackles in each of the last three seasons, accumulating a total of 260 tackles (23 for a loss) and six sacks during that time.
"JD is a very complete football player," Ruud said. "I think 'football player' is gonna be a buzzword that's thrown around a lot with him. But he loves the game, competes at a high level every single day and is very consistent."
Doyal: "It's the instincts that he has for the game. He sees things quicker than most people do. So, whereas somebody might be at one spot on the field chasing the ball, this kid's two steps ahead of that already, because he saw it, diagnosed it, recognized it so early."
That, and the character makeup is there, too.
"When you don't have to work the effort into guys, it makes your life as a coach a lot easier," Ruud said.
This is a trait Doyal said seems to have always been there when it comes to Bertrand.
"With some guys, there's a maturation process from when they come into college," Doyal said. "This guy was not that. This guy probably came out of the womb fully developed in terms of things that you look for in terms of intangibles."
And therein lies the ultimate dichotomy of Bertrand.
On the field, he's intense. He's meticulous. At the college level he was playing a step ahead, and was never afraid to let his intensity show up when he lowered his pads against a running back. Off the field, though, people describe him as the gold standard for a person.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was quoted in Dane Brugler’s scouting guide as saying Bertrand "sets the standard for everyone else on the roster." It was Doyal who explained why.
"Just an A-plus human in the community, in the locker room, but you bring it to the football field and the guy plays like an absolute psychopath in the best way," Doyal said. "He has that dichotomy to his personality, which is really neat to see because you get him off the field and he's like a marry-your-daughter type."
He's a people galvanizer, Doyal said, someone who people simply find themselves gravitating towards. But on the field, it's Bertrands job to gravitate towards others, and he does so without hesitation.
Raheem Morris, Terry Fontenot and Doyal, too, all dubbed Bertrand "Captain America" the night he was drafted to Atlanta. It's a nickname with lofty expectations, but one the Falcons feel conviction in Bertrand being able to meet. After all, he's been known to do just that.
"This guy just does everything right," Doyal concluded.
