FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — With the 2024 season on the horizon, the Falcons held a full-team scrimmage for nearly the entirety of Wednesday's practice, the second-to-last of the preseason.
Generally, training camp coverage tends to focus on two groups of players: the stars every fan knows and cares about, and those who find themselves locked in a position battle with a job on the line. However, outcomes on Sundays are largely dependent on a third group of players, those who play key roles but get lost in the shuffle.
They weren't lost on Wednesday, though, and it's a great sign that the best thing I saw during the scrimmage were players like Charlie Woerner and Eddie Goldman making the types of impact plays that lead to wins. The Falcons need a good start, given how early their division slate falls in the schedule, and this practice provided reasons to believe the supporting cast is locked in.
So, let's briefly discuss each of those players who jumped out.
Troy Andersen
I'm cheating a little bit at the top, because Andersen is probably closer to being a core guy than a support player, but he is still a bit of an unknown quantity on Sundays. If he looks like he did on Wednesday – or for much of preseason practices – Andersen will be known around the league in short order.
With Kaden Elliss sidelined Wednesday due to a groin injury and Nate Landman sitting out with a quad injury, Andersen saw a lot of action with the starting defense. His speed stood out immediately, both in terms of mental processing and his actual on-field movement. Andersen was often in the right spot, and he was usually the first one there.
Elliss and Landman were a strong pair at inside linebacker last season, but Andersen's sideline-to-sideline range feels like it's a tier above. The last player who could cover the amount of ground Andersen can was Deion Jones. I'm excited to see how that element looks in this defense.
Eddie Goldman
As the biggest player on the defensive line, Goldman fills an important niche for the Falcons. His size made life difficult for Atlanta's second-team offensive line at times. The 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive tackle clogged up holes in the run game and also split double teams in half.
Even a solid season from Goldman — assuming he is on the team’s 53-man roster — would likely mean good things for Atlanta's defense. He eats up space, which should benefit players alongside him like Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata as well as the team's overall run defense.
After a couple years away, it was good to see Goldman stand out on Wednesday.
Charlier Woerner
Every second spent watching Woerner during the scrimmage was entertaining. Whether he was perfectly executing a lead block through the B gap or celebrating with a little finger point after helping spring a first-down run, Woerner played with a joy felt 65 yards away.
The assumption with Woerner is that he'll essentially be nothing more than a blocking tight end for this offense. I'm not so sure about that. The fifth-year tight end has only 11 career receptions for 120 yards, but he's athletic enough to contribute as a receiver in this offense, especially if defenses forget about him. If Atlanta has a card up its sleeve ready and waiting for a big moment, it might have Woerner's name on it.
Darnell Mooney
Mooney bounced back from a tough couple of practices last week with a big day on Wednesday. He was frequently involved by Cousins, who seems to be developing nice chemistry with the free-agent receiver. Mooney is similar to the Taylor Gabriel, Olamide Zaccheaus style of player that the Falcons haven't really featured the last couple of years, and I think the offense has missed that piece.
The former Chicago Bear caught five passes during the scrimmage, according to Terrin Waack’s count in the camp report, and he also had a nicely designed jet sweep during a red zone period. We know what London does well. We know how Kyle Pitts creates mismatches. What we don't know – and what teams don't either – is how Mooney will be deployed in this offense. But the stage is set for Mooney to have a strong year in Atlanta.
