FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons' preseason has been pretty eventful, to say the least.
There have been injuries to position groups that were looking for breakout starters. There have been late signings of top-tier free agents — safety Justin Simmons and outside linebacker Matthew Judon, who both joined in the past week.
The approach to the first and second preseason games varied greatly in terms of who got involved in the action. For example, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and defensive lineman Zach Harrison each started the first game but did not play in the other.
Well, with the third and final exhibition on tap Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the latest Question of the Week centers around how things have changed this preseason. The Falcons editorial staff of Tori McElhaney, Will McFadden, Terrin Waack and Amna Subhan share their opinion on the camp battle that has been shaken up the most.
McELHANEY: Safety. Going into training camp I just knew the sneakiest of camp battles was going to be between Richie Grant and DeMarcco Hellams for that second starting spot alongside Jessie Bates III. Oh, how times have changed. Since I made that proclamation in the week leading up to the start of practice, Hellams suffered an ankle injury that has him out of commission for a "significant" period of time. How long is "significant?" I wish I could tell you. What I can tell you, though, is that it is a good sign Hellams hasn't been placed on injured reserve yet. That leaves the door open for a comeback.
If that door remains slightly closed for a little while, though, that's not the end of the world. One of the biggest acquisitions of the entire 2024 calendar year made sure of that. Simmons signing with the Falcons was a big get for the defense and the team at large. Though he hasn't taken a single team rep in practice this week, one can assume the starting spot is his. That frees up Grant to play a more rotational role, perhaps even in the defense's dime package, which is something I thought he'd be well suited to even before Simmons got in here and Hellams got hurt.
It could be argued that the pairing of Simmons and Bates in the secondary is one of the best safety duos in the league. And that is one of the biggest — if not the biggest — shake ups in camp that has the biggest potential come the start of the regular season.
McFADDEN: Safety is probably the correct answer here because of all the reasons Tori stated above. Adding Simmons to this roster improves both the ceiling and the floor for the entire defense, and it's a move that wasn't even on my bingo card when camp kicked off. So, definitionally, I think that is the right call.
For the sake of providing a different answer, though, I'll flip to the offensive side and touch on the third receiver spot. Even with Ray-Ray McCloud III on the roster at the start of camp, I felt Moore would emerge as the team's versatile third option. Things were trending in the right direction for the former second-round receiver before he sustained a season-ending knee injury in Miami. Before then, however, it was clear McCloud was going to be pretty involved in the offense.
That revelation is something I didn't necessarily see coming. Factor in Moore's unfortunate injury, and my expectations for who would occupy Atlanta's third receiver role in 2024 have changed quite a bit.
WAACK: Inside linebacker. For the longest time, the conversation centered around Kaden Elliss, Troy Andersen and Nate Landman. It still does. But now, JD Bertrand has entered the chat.
This week, Bertrand received significant reps with the first-team defense. Landman was absent from both open sessions – Monday's practice and Wednesday's scrimmage – with a quad injury. Elliss left Monday's sesion early and did not return nor did he participate Wednesday, due to a groin injury. That opened the door for Bertrand to slide in next to Andersen with the starters in both 11-on-11 and scrimmage work.
It looked like Bertrand stepped up to the plate, too. While he didn't have what would be considered a standout moment – like Andersen’s forced fumble in the scrimmage – he also didn't appear to be the cause of any negative plays. For a rookie, that's all one can ask. He has clearly earned the coaches' trust enough to earn the backup role over Donavan Mutin or Milo Eifler, too, which speaks volumes since both of them have played well this preseason.
This isn't to say Bertrand is going to replace Elliss or Landman. Elliss, Andersen and Landman are the go-to starters, no doubt. All three will likely rotate during games, just like they have throughout the preseason. What will be interesting to see moving forward into the regular season, though, is whether Bertrand has shown enough to join that rotation.
SUBHAN: Outside linebacker. Before training camp began, the initial expectations was that Lorenzo Carter and Arnold Ebiketie would line up on the edge.
Then, we saw first-year Falcon James Smith-Williams in the mix with the starters alongside Carter, which was a surprise to those on the outside, but not to those in the room. Rookie Bralen Trice had himself a productive start to camp and was carving out a nice role before going down with a season-ending knee injury in the first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. And just last week, the Falcons brought in four-time Pro Bowler Matthew Judon via a trade with the New England Patriots.
That's quite a shakeup for the position group.
In the last open practice, Carter and Judon saw the most play on the edge with the first team. I imagine that's what we'll see in Week 1 against the Steelers.
It definitely feels like there's some stability there with two veterans bookends — Carter is entering his seventh season, and Judon his ninth. Carter said as much after the Falcons' Wednesday scrimmage, appreciating that he's able to have someone on the roster who can teach him a thing or two.
"Being able to talk to him is like going into those upper-level classes, where you're just like, 'Alright, so what do you think about this?'" Carter said of Judon. "Then you get to bounce different ideas of how to play different things versus, 'this is what the coach said,' and just trying to get guys to remember what coach said. It's been great. I'm used to being the older guy in the room."
