Who stands to gain Falcons position battle ground Thursday night?

We’re thinking about matchups and Falcons to watch, as we always do before Atlanta games, but we’ll admit out loud that preseason is less important in that regard. What so many of us want to do is A) watch a good game and B) see the needle move on some of the team’s top position battles.

That’s the ground we’ll cover this afternoon, as we consider a handful of players who figure to gain (or lose) significant ground with a quality play

De’Vondre Campbell

Nobody stands to gain more. Campbell could legitimately start at linebacker as a fourth round rookie, and with his ability and athleticism, if he gets the job he might not relinquish it for a long time. He’s looked consistently excellent in practice, so if he can maintain that in an actual game situation, Campbell should gain a bigger leg up over the likes of Philip Wheeler, Sean Weatherspoon, and TYLER STARR.

Deion Jones

Jones has a little less to gain—he already has the edge on Paul Worrilow, in my opinion, given that the Falcons are working Worrilow at a couple different linebacker spots and on special teams—but Jones needs to show he’s more than just a speedy dude. This is his first big chance.

Aldrick Robinson

We don’t mean to write off the likes of Nick Williams, David Glidden, and even Eric Weems in the race for fourth receiver, but Robinson should have the edge both because of what he’s done thus far in camp and his obvious deep speed. With Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu likely exiting the game early, Robinson’s going to get his shot to prove himself.

C.J. Goodwin

There’s little question that Goodwin deserves kudos, no matter what happens from here on out, because wide receivers don’t switch to cornerback and snatch a bunch of interceptions out of the air a couple of months later on a regular basis.

Goodwin has a chance to keep building on one of the coolest stories from camp here, where he’ll likely play at least half the game. He likely only needs a couple of strong preseason games to lock up at least a practice squad spot, and with the back end of the cornerback position settled, he might win a job outright.

Brandon Wilds & Gus Johnson

Terron Ward isn’t going to play, which leaves Wilds and Johnson to battle it out in his absence. Either one could ultimately land the third running back gig, given that Ward was not overly impressive in his 2015 audition.

Who will you be watching tomorrow night?