Positions to watch as Atlanta tinkers with its 53 man roster

The Falcons have built a reasonably well-balanced roster, albeit one that lacks elite talent outside of a handful of positions. That doesn’t mean there aren’t positions where Atlanta simply is weak or doesn’t have enough bodies, which is where this article comes in.

There are currently three key position groups where I could think the Falcons are very likely to make changes between now and the start of the season. Let’s take a look at all three.

Tackle/Center

The Falcons are loaded here, numbers-wise. Only Jake Matthews, Ryan Schraeder, and Tom Compton are true tackles on this entire roster, while only Alex Mack is a full-time center. That means that Chris Chester, Andy Levitre, Wes Schweitzer, Mike Person, and Ben Garland are all considered at least quasi-guards, and while Person and Garland are versatile enough to play center, I’m not sure I can see the team keeping both very far into the season.

Linebacker

The Falcons are carrying plenty of linebackers, and several of them are essentially locked into roles. With LaRoy Reynolds, Sean Weatherspoon and Philip Wheeler all on relatively short term deals, though, it’s fair to wonder if one of the three might be on the way out if the Falcons are shuffling things around, and if the Falcons like any of the ‘backers who have been freed by cuts, I wouldn’t be stunned to see Wheeler or Reynolds in particular go.

Cornerback

This is the big one. Right now, Atlanta surprisingly only has four true cornerbacks on the roster, with the excellent Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford currently being backed up by undrafted free agent Brian Poole and receiver-to-cornerback conversion project C.J. Goodwin. Jalen Collins will be back in the fold in four weeks, but it’s exceedingly unlikely Atlanta sticks with only four corners until then, especially given the lack of experience behind Trufant and Alford.