DJ Tialavea is off to a far better start at tackle than we had any right to expect

The Falcons don’t appear to have any great swing tackle options on the roster at the moment, if the first half or so of the first preseason game is any indication. (It is not). Nonetheless, you had to be impressed with DJ Tialavea tonight.

The former tight end switched to tackle about...I dunno, a week ago? He clearly had put on some weight in anticipation of this move, but even so, he was in with the second team and didn’t embarrass himself. When you consider the circumstances, his ability to show some toughness as a run blocker and a little bit of pass protection chops was downright impressive. This experiment may end well, after all.

This is a roundabout way of saying you should watch Tialavea and see what kind of case he can make for the swing tackle job going forward. He remains a longshot to win it this year, but he’s already showing enough to make me think he’s probably got a practice squad spot in his future.