Left Cornerback A.J. Terrell, Right Cornerback Mike Hughes, RCB Clark Phillips III, Nickelback Dee Alford, & NB Antonio Hamilton Sr. are making the Atlanta Falcons ’ 53 man roster. Head Coach Raheem Morris all but confirmed by healthy scratching the five versus the Baltimore Ravens in Preseason Week 2.
Going off conventional allocation, Kevin King, Anthony Johnson, and Natrone Brooks are fighting for one remaining spot.
The defensive star of Game 1 vs. the Miami Dolphins? Kevin King.
The defensive star of Game 2?
24-year-old Natrone Brooks.
Tackle production wasn’t even close this week, with a staggering more than 2x difference between the 1st & 3rd (Tre Tarpley III) tackle getter.
Take note of Brooks’s forced fumble late in the game against TE Qadir Ismail. Ismail is the son of a Super Bowl champ and is a 6’6, 215 pound former quarterback. That ain’t no puppy. Brooks while listed at 174 pounds, claims himself to be 169. He put all 169 pounds into lighting up Ismail in the flat late in a competitive game.
A 2023 Falcons Practice Squad member his rookie year, that floor has established itself for Brooks as far as retention in Atlanta specifically. Adding on to 2023, what is different for Brooks? How does he fare in a different regime? Better.
"This year, we have the ability to play off a lot and read the quarterback. I feel like that's my skillset, being smaller," Brooks said.
Back to the “floor” comment above, we are talking about a sub 170 pounder who made the practice squad on a predominantly Press Man 4-3 defense.
Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake, while “multiple” as coach speak likes to say nowadays, is going to rain & pour an Off-Zone Coverage 3-4 defensive scheme.
Does Kevin King lead for the final spot heading into a final Preseason matchup at home vs. the Fighting Mac Jones’s of Jacksonville ?
Yes. But.
How do you cut Brooks after another performance like this….
You don’t.
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