3 Winners and 3 losers from the final Falcons preseason game

Get your winners and losers from that 17-15 Falcons win over the Jaguars, right here. We don’t know when the roster cuts are coming, but we do know that these players helped and hurt their causes, respectively.

Winners

J.D. McKissic and Nick Williams

I’m cheating a little here, but both of these guys played well, and both got roughly equal run. Both have some special teams value and are useful short-to-intermediate range targets, though McKissic’s genuine speed makes him a little more interesting than Williams, in my humble opinion. It would be difficult to be upset if either/both made it.

The only question now is how much the Falcons value Eric Weems’ considerable special teams value. If he sticks, I’d expect Williams to grab the last roster spot with Devin Fuller on injured reserve, with J.D. McKissic heading to the practice squad.

Nordly Capi

None of the reserve defensive ends harmed their chances, in my humble opinion, but Capi stood out again. He had a couple of nice stops, added pressure, and came up with a late sack in this one, and just generally has been more impressive than anyone would have anticipated. I hope he makes the practice squad, at the very least, and he continued to make his case in the last preseason game.

Terron Ward

He needed to get healthy and make an impact to grab a roster spot, and while he fumbled the ball away once and had a pretty anemic yards per carry average in this one, Ward continues to be a decent blocker, quality special teamer, and strong short yardage runner, with two touchdowns on the night. I’d prefer Brandon Wilds nailed down the last spot, but I think it belongs to Ward.

Losers

Shayne Graham

A healthy Matt Bryant was the favorite for the kicking job, but he only got healthy this week, and Graham was a quality kicker for Atlanta last year. With Bryant back in action and Graham missing a 32 yarder, though, his roster chances are probably cooked.

Akeem King

King was (and maybe still is) the presumptive favorite for third cornerback duties while Jalen Collins is out, but he hasn’t done much to stand out, and he got absolutely burnt on a 27 yard touchdown pass against Jaguars backups. King also showed his skill as a tackler in this one, but that touchdown is going to be sticking in the coaching staff’s mind while they take a hard look at King and competitors Brian Poole, C.J. Goodwin, and Devonte Johnson.

Brandon Wilds

The only man on this list because he didn’t play. Wilds had a strong preseason, but probably needed to play and play better than Ward against the Jaguars to seal up a roster spot, and he simply wasn’t able to.