Cover 9@9: 5 players to watch in training camp for the Falcons

1. The no-spin zone: The health of quarterback Kirk Cousins (Achilles) and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee) are the two big issues facing the Falcons when they report for training camp July 24.

If both players return healthy and are ready for full-time duty by the season opener Sept. 8, then the expectations for the coming season will drastically change.

The bar is pretty low right now. Just stop the streak of six consecutive losing seasons.

Any thoughts of winning the division and making the playoffs would require the 100% return to good health for Cousins and Jarrett.

After completing the eight-part 90-man roster analysis, here are the five players to watch when training camp starts:

2. Kyle Pitts, tight end/wide receiver: The Falcons spent the offseason working Pitts at wide receiver and tight end.

He should be too big for cornerbacks and perhaps too fast for safeties if he can regain the playing speed that he exhibited as a rookie.

Also, he’ll have a veteran quarterback for the first time since he played with Matt Ryan.

The Falcons were enthralled with the 61-yard reception that Pitts made against the Bills his rookie season. The new coaches have seen him make big plays on film, and now they want to see it on a regular basis.

3. Clark Phillips III, cornerback: The Falcons threw in the towel on the Jeff Okudah experiment last season and took a look at Phillips, who started five games after being drafted in the fourth round (113th overall) out of Utah.

He’s a tough, hard-nosed football player. He held up in coverage on deep routes, too.

It wasn’t pretty at times, but he apparently showed enough to get a shot at the starting spot as the Falcons didn’t draft a cornerback and don’t have enough money to get a top-flight veteran cornerback.

Phillips was targetted 36 times and gave up 18 catches (50%) for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterbacks had a 88.8 passer ratting when throwing at Phillips.

He also had 27 tackles and three missed tackles.

4. Avery Williams, running back: Williams, who missed last season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in June, led the league in punt returns with an average of 16.2 yards per return in 2022. He will get a shot to also handle the kickoffs since Cordarrelle Patterson was not re-signed.

Williams averaged 21.3 yards on 23 kickoff returns as a rookie in 2021. He averaged 19.6 yards on 16 returns in 2022.

The former Boise State standout, who was drafted in the fifth round (183rd overall), is looking forward to new rules.

“It’s more returns for me,” Williams said. “I’m extremely excited.”

Williams will have some competition from Rondale Moore, Ray-Ray McCloud, Mike Hughes and possibly Tyler Allgeier.

“We have a bunch of returners that we could put back there,” Marquice Williams said.

5a. Arnold Ebiketie: With Bud Dupree and Calais Campbell gone, Ebiketie is the team’s top returning pass-rusher. Dupree and Campbell tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks last season.

Ebiketie, who was drafted to play in the 3-4 alignment by the former regime, flashed as a pass-rusher and finished with six sacks while playing 384 defensive snaps (34%).

He played in all 17 games and made six starts. To go with the six sacks, he had five hurries and four quarterback knockdowns. He had 25 tackles and two missed tackles.

In new regime’s 3-4, Ebiketie’s playing time should increase and maybe he will turn into the “Dr. Pass Rush” that he said he was after getting drafted.

5b. Troy Andersen, linebacker: He suffered a torn pectoral injury last season, and Nate Landman took over the job.

Landman finished third on the team with 110 tackles.

The speedy Andersen will have to beat out Landman to win back his starting spot.

Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC

6. Bill Walsh Fellowship: West Georgia wide receivers coach David Whitlow has been selected by the Falcons to participate in the 2024 Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

The fellowship was designed to help coaches gain exposure to NFL training camps and offseason programs for 30 years, with the goal of increasing the number of full-time NFL minority coaches.

“I am grounded in gratitude and extremely humbled to be able to serve as a Bill Walsh Fellow for the Falcons,” Whitlow said. “The Falcons have built a phenomenal staff and an extremely competitive roster in a very short time and to be able to go in, serve, and learn from the best of the best will provide insight in many areas and will be an invaluable experience.”

A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Whitlow played quarterback and defensive back at Alabama State (2015-19).

He was graduate assistant at Mississippi and for two years at Auburn before landing an full-time assistant coach’s job with the Wolves. At Auburn, he worked under Falcons wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Alabama State and a master’s in adult education from Auburn.

“From a football perspective, an operations perspective, and just figuring out how to navigate the day-to-day life of being a football coach, my goal is to learn as much as I can and develop real and authentic relationships, while also bringing back tools and ideas that are applicable to winning football games here at (West Georgia),” Whitlow added.

7. Salary cap: The NFL salary cap is $255.4 million for the 2024 season.

The Falcons have only $3.1 million in cap space (top 51 salaries), which is 31st in the league, according to Spotrac.

8. Rookie signings: Defensive tackles Ruke Ohorhoro and Brandon Dorlus remain unsigned by the Falcons.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL draft signed a four-year, $22.88 million deal with a $13.46 million signing bonus.

The Falcons previously signed rookie outside linebacker Bralen Trice, who was drafted in the third round (74th overall) of the NFL draft. He signed a four-year contract worth $5.9 million May 17. His deal included a signing bonus of $1,121,379.

The Falcons signed linebacker JD Bertrand, running back Jase McClellan, wide receiver Casey Washington and defensive tackle Zion Logue signed their contracts in May.

9. Depth chart: Here’s the working depth chart heading into training camp:

OFFENSE

QB – Kirk Cousins, Taylor Heinicke, Michael Penix Jr., John Paddock

RB – Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Carlos Washington Jr., Jase McClellan

FB – Robert Burns

WR – Drake London, Josh Ali, Austin Mack, Greg Washington, Dylan Drummond

Slot WR – Rondale Moore, Ray-Ray McCloud

TE – Kyle Pitts, Charlie Woerner, John FitzPatrick, Austin Stogner, Ross Dwelley

LT – Jake Matthews, Tyler Vrabel, Barry Wesley, Andrew Stueber

LG – Matthew Bergeron, John Leglue, Ryan Coll

C – Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil, Jovaughn Gwyn

RG – Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton,

RT – Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton, Jaryd Jones-Smith

WR – Darnell Mooney, KhaDarel Hodge, Chris Blair, Isaiah Wooden, Daylen Baldwin, OJ Hiliare.

DEFENSE 3-4 alignment

DE – Zach Harrison, Kentavius Street, Demone Harris, James Smith-Williams, Brandon Dorlus

NT – David Onyemata, LaCale London, Tommy Togiai, Eddie Goldman, Zion Logue

DT – Grady Jarrett, Kentavius Street, Ta’Quon Graham, Prince Emil, Ruke Orhorhoro

LOLB – Arnold Ebiketie, Bradlee Anae, Kehinde Oginni

LILB – Kaden Elliss, Donavan Mutin, Milo Eifler

RILB – Troy Andersen, Nate Landman, JD Bertrand

ROLB – Lorenzo Carter, DeAngelo Malone, Bralen Trice

CB – A.J. Terrell, Antonio Hamilton, Jayden Price, Anthony Sao

Nickel CB – Mike Hughes, Dee Alford, Trey Vaval

FS – Jessie Bates III, Micah Abernathy, Tre Tarpley III

SS – DeMarcco Hellams, Richie Grant, Lukas Denis, Dane Cruikshank

CB – Clark Phillips III, Natrone Brooks, Kevin King

SPECIAL TEAMS

K – Younghoe Koo

P/H – Bradley Pinion, Ryan Sanborn

LS – Liam McCullough

PR – Ray-Ray McCloud or Avery Williams

KOR – Ray-Ray McCloud or Avery Williams

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