FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- And just like that, the Falcons are starting their second week of camp. This will be an important one as the pads go on this week with the team preparing for a week of joint practices in Miami next week.
However, before the week really gets started, we're introducing a new story series that will breakdown some of the key developments in position battles. It's called "Battle Lines" and we will have a new installment after every four-day block of practices and preseason games.
Let's take a closer examination into some of these storylines.
Wide receiver
Since the Falcons have re-tooled their wide receiver room around Drake London, there's been much debate about just who would be WR3. Well, if the first week of camp is any indication, Ray-Ray McCloud could be the front-runner. McCloud's ascension to the spot isn't surprising. He was always in contention for it even before he ever hit the field. However, the first week of camp didn't particularly show a strict competition for WR3 between McCloud and Rondale Moore the way many may have assumed.
McCloud worked with Kirk Cousins in nearly every 11-on-11 rep he was in throughout the week. Meanwhile, Moore was seen splitting time between Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. This is not to say Moore isn't in competition for first-team reps. He is. It just means that perhaps McCloud has the slight advantage right now. In fact, by the fourth day of practice, when skill guys warmed up with quarterbacks while the rest of the team worked though a few tackling and special teams drills, it was McCloud who ran routes on air with a lineup that included Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Darnell Moore and Bijan Robinson.
Cornerback/Nickel
For every rep this first-team defense takes, it would seem Mike Hughes takes another step towards solidifying a starting spot. Heading into camp, we talked extensively about the competition at cornerback with Hughes and Clark Phillips III. However, that specific competition doesn't seem as heated as the original expectation hypothesized it being. There has been no sign yet that Phillips and Hughes are even in competition at all, with Hughes taking the vast majority of the snaps opposite A.J. Terrell.
As for Phillips, there's a bit more cross-training happening with him than just about anyone else in the secondary. He's working primarily with the second-team, but he goes back-and-forth between playing outside and in the slot according to the look and personnel grouping. When Phillips is at nickel, it's usually former free agency pick-ups Antonio Hamilton Sr. and Kevin King taking the reps outside. Dee Alford continues as the Falcons would-be starter in the slot.
Safety
As Will McFadden noted in his off-day recap Monday, like Hughes, Richie Grant hasn't relinquished many first-team reps in the team's first week of practices. However, unlike Hughes with Terrell, Grant and Jessie Bates III do not take every single rep together. DeMarcco Hellams is getting in there from time to time. It's Grant, though, that looks to have the advantage early.
Raheem Morris was asked specifically about Grant Saturday night. He said Grant's versatility in usage is what the Falcons most value in the fourth-year safety.
"Richie, his ability to move around and potentially go up there in the front and play a little bit of linebacker at that dime position and do some of those type of things, they're exciting," Morris said. "You're talking about an exciting player who brings a bunch of energy. As Jerry Gray would describe him, you hear him before you see him. And he's exciting to be around.
"I'm excited to see how far he can grow and what he can do throughout camp and throughout the rest of this deal."
Inside linebacker
We have yet to see Kaden Elliss, Nate Landman and Troy Andersen all out on the field at the same time so far, but that doesn't mean it isn't in the works. Even Landman said Sunday he hopes the Falcons can find a way to put them all on the field together.
For the time being, though, they're sticking to a two-man rotation. And a rotation it truly is. More times than not, though, it's Elliss and Landman getting the very first reps in 11-on-11 work. However, it doesn't take long for Andersen to rotate in. As for who's calling the defense when there is such a heavy rotation, Landman said that responsibility rotates, too.
"We've got a good rotation going," Landman said. "When Kaden is in there with Troy, Kaden is calling the defense. When I am in there with either of them, then I am calling the defense as the Mike. It pretty much just who's set up as Mike and whatever defense we're running."
How this works and why it works this way will be something to further report on as Week 2 gets underway.
Outside linebacker
Between Will and myself, we have made it no secret that our biggest surprise of camp and possible the sleeper of the first week is James Smith-Williams. More times than not, it's Smith-Williams working with the first-team defensive line. The free agent signing brings experience and size, and if the Falcons were to run out their starting defensive front in a game situation tomorrow, chances are you'd see Smith-Williams and Lorenzo Carter out there first.
So, what does this mean for someone like Arnold Ebiketie? Well, this shouldn't change the expectation. There is still a lot of hopes riding on Ebiketie's pass-rush production being one of the most notable on the team when the year is said and done. When it comes to the outside linebacker position, sometimes it's less about who's starting and more about who's getting the most snaps. So, we will see how that ultimately shapes out.
What I will leave you with, though, has nothing to do with Smith-Williams or Ebiketie. What I will leave you to ponder is this: Don't sleep on Bralen Trice. There are not very many rookies working consistently with the first-team the way Trice is. He's in this conversation, and preseason games may be important for someone in his position as he works to establish himself on this defense.
