I would love to blare out a headline that’s much more clickable, because I love clicks just as much any blogger can. The truth is, though, the Falcons put together a strong roster and there is absolutely nothing surprising about their initial, unofficial depth chart.
The closest thing you can see here is Brooks Reed and Courtney Upshaw listed as starting defensive ends, which would be surprising if the Falcons actually intended to start those players and have them play more snaps than, say, Vic Beasley and Adrian Clayborn. Because of the way the Falcons rotate their defensive ends, though, the depth chart there is effectively meaningless.
The #Falcons have released the first unofficial depth chart of the regular season, here’s what you need to know: https://t.co/rw4XYQZkD8 pic.twitter.com/zFho9ND2ZS
— Kelsey Conway (@FalconsKelsey) September 5, 2017
I do have a few items to note that may become relevant down the line, however.
- Andre Roberts is handling both kick and punt returns at the moment. If he ever falls out of favor or gets hurt, however, it looks like the Falcons would give punt returns to Taylor Gabriel and kick returns to Justin Hardy. Gabriel is explosive and Hardy is sure-handed, strong, and shifty, so I’m okay with both.
- C.J. Goodwin is effectively listed as the fourth cornerback, which is about where I thought he’d be. Goodwin certainly has more potential and raw ability than either Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Deji Olatoye, and no matter how much the Falcons change up their corps of cornerbacks, Goodwin should stick.
- As anticipated, Ty Sambrailo is listed as the backup at left tackle, while Austin Pasztor is listed as the backup at right tackle. Instead of one true swing tackle, the Falcons have two reasonably season young tackles who have experience at left and right tackle. They’ve certainly trotted out much worse in recent years.
Other than that, nothing to write home about. This is a good roster with a sensible starting lineup, and we’ll look forward to seeing it in action.