Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell know they have a chance to be Atlanta's future at linebacker, so when rookie minicamp began last week, the pair of draft picks wasted no time getting to know each other.
Once at Flowery Branch, they made sure to sit together at lunch every afternoon during camp. They studied a lot of film. And they got some valuable reps on the field, where they received a taste of what it's like to play for an NFL team.
"(Jones) is a good guy, man. We've been getting really close the past couple of days," Campbell said on Saturday. "Just trying to get comfortable with each other, because we're going to be here for a while."
Forming a relationship is particularly important for these two considering what their roles can be in Atlanta. Each has experience at weakside linebacker, and since the weakside and middle linebacker positions are similar in Quinn's scheme, both could develop into key players for the Falcons.
"The communication you could see you have to force it to make that happen. They've been in the meeting rooms together and back at the dorms together, so that bond and connection only happens when you spend the time both here in the locker room and off the field," said coach Dan Quinn.
"That process is fully underway. … I'm anticipating over the next six weeks they'll spend a lot of time together. I have trust on that one, going through classroom sessions, on the field and off the field."
