FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons conducted one final practice before heading down to Miami, Fla., later this afternoon. The excitement is building ahead of joint practices against the Dolphins.
"You get to hit someone in a different colored jersey, so you can let loose a little bit more," Falcons running backs coach Michael Pitre said. "And the energy levels are gonna pick up a little bit."
While joint practices will provide a little more juice, and a lot more humidity, the final session at the home facility was a good one. The team conducted a jog-through, position group drills and an 11-on-11 period, mostly with the first team going against the second team.
Atlanta's running backs got a lot of work in particular during the full-team period, but that work didn't take away from Kirk Cousins' day. He was consistent when dropping back in the pocket. He was 9-of-10, by my count, but his single misfire was notable: an impressive interception by A.J. Terrell.
Let's get into all that and more below.
Notes and observations:
Camp Champ: There's no post-practice Falcons Final Whistle podcast today as folks travel down for Miami, but my Camp Champ pick of the day would be Terrell.
Terrell picked off Cousins for the lone interception of the day. Terrell read wide receiver Darnell Mooney's route clear as day and made a diving catch to the grass.
There's been a lot of discussion about who will line up opposite Terrell — which has largely been Mike Hughes with a sprinkle of Clark Phillips III — but Terrell has quietly had a solid camp so far which is what you want out of a guy of his stature.
Rotations galore: Monday's practice included heavy rotation on defense during 11-on-11 play. Outside linebackers, specifically, saw a lot of movement.
Lorenzo Carter, Arnold Ebiketie, Bralen Trice, Badlee Anae, DeAngelo Malone and Demone Harris all saw reps on the edge. Kentavius Street and Zach Harrison worked a lot on the interior. Meanwhile, Clark Phillips III and Antonio Hamilton Sr. saw some limited first-team action at cornerback.
Like last practice, offensive lineman Storm Norton saw some reps with the starters in place of left tackle Jake Matthews. Matthews still took a significant amount of snaps, while Norton also ran with the second group. At one point, Norton was in on back-to-back series. Tight end Ross Dwelley and running back Carlos Washington Jr. also saw some run with the starters.
RB3?: Pitre said after practice that it's too early to clearly name a player to the third running back spot behind Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, but I think it's safe to say that Carlos Washington Jr. is in the running. The running back got his first reps with the first team Monday with six carries and a single completion, according to my notes.
Washington joined the Falcons for the 2023 training camp as an undrafted free agent out of Southeastern Louisiana. Washington didn't make the 53-man roster but was signed to Atlanta's practice squad during the season. He's remained with the team since.
"I just think you're seeing a young man that's continuing to get comfortable with the NFL game," Pitre said of Washington. "Coming from New Hampshire then SELA then to the NFL — it's much different. No different from any rookie, I don't care where you come from. I think he'll just continue to get more and more confident."
Preseason players to watch: There will be a lot to make of how the starters fare during joint practices, but a football game will be played Friday. A slew of names who won't typically see a lot of action on regular-season Sundays will take most, if not all, of the preseason snaps.
Here are some names to watch out for on offense. We talked about Washington, he'll be a name you'll likely see a lot in the Falcons' first preseason game against the Dolphins.
Wide receivers Chris Blair and OJ Hiliare may also be two names to look out for. Blair had an impressive catch during pass-catcher drills, and Hiliare had perhaps the best catch of the day on a deep route via Michael Penix Jr.
Roll call: Only one player was absent from Monday's practice — Grady Jarrett.
Coming off an ACL repair, Jarrett hasn't missed a training camp practice up to this point, but with the team leaving for joint practices Monday afternoon it's not a surprise that the 10-year veteran had his sights on the next practice against the Dolphins Tuesday.
