The Falcons will likely stick with their current personnel at cornerback against the Vikings

Yesterday, we noted that the lack of a signing on Tuesday likely meant the Falcons would stick with who they have at cornerback. I thought it was important to give some reasons as to why they might do so.

As I see it, it boils down to three reasons, all of which I’ll cover briefly here.

1. The Falcons are only likely to be without Desmond Trufant for one week. I’m reading the tea leaves here, of course, but the Falcons just don’t seem concerned by Tru’s status, and he’s not working with a second concussion the way Freeman was. If you don’t think your top cornerback is going to miss more than one week, you don’t need to go out and make any kind of major move.
2. The Falcons have more faith in Blidi Wreh-Wilson than we’d expect. Keep in mind that they’ve kept him this entire time despite our collective doubts, that they’ve gotten him some small playing time in the past, and that he fits the physical profile Dan Quinn likes in his cornerbacks, however loosely. If they need to play him for 10-20 snaps, which they will, I don’t think they’ll blink. He’ll be behind C.J. Goodwin, who has had some success in the past and certainly has the length Quinn is looking for.
3. Ricardo Allen can play cornerback in a pinch, and Damontae Kazee has shown he can handle free safety pretty well. That’s very important, because the Falcons are still an injury or ineffective performance away from needing help at corner, and Allen’s physicality and long experience playing deep will work in his favor against speedy Minnesota wideouts. He’s essentially the fifth cornerback, and Kazee is a perfectly capable fill-in at free safety. That gives Atlanta the flexibility they need to survive a short stint without Trufant.

None of this allows the Falcons truly paper over Trufant’s absence, since he’s one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL. It should allow them to weather a tough matchup without him, however, so long as Goodwin, Wreh-Wilson, and the rest can avoid catastrophe. Let us pray they can.