Falcons snap counts and notes for Week 3 of preseason

SNAP COUNT TIME! Sorry to yell.

Offense

Danny Etling: 32

Adam Gettis: 32

John Wetzel: 32

Sean Harlow: 32

Jaelin Robinson: 32

Chris Lindstrom: 30

Matt Gono: 30

Jake Matthews: 30

Alex Mack: 30

Christian Blake: 25

Austin Hooper: 25

Shawn Bane: 24

Logan Paulsen: 23

C.J. Worton: 22

Olamide Zaccheaus: 21

Mohamed Sanu: 21

Qadree Ollison: 20

James Carpenter: 19

Kahlil Lewis: 18

Ito Smith: 17

Wes Schweitzer: 17

Calvin Ridley: 16

Chandler Miller: 15

Luke Stocker: 13

Tony Brooks-James: 12

Devin Gray: 11

Jamon Brown: 11

Justin Hardy: 8

Jaeden Graham: 8

Dieugot Joseph: 8

Devonta Freeman: 7

Brian Hill: 6

Marcus Green: 4

Ricky Ortiz: 1

---

One thing that’s worth noting: Ricky Ortiz got hurt, but the Falcons continue to play guys like Luke Stocker and Jaeden Graham at fullback regardless. Ortiz is a good guy and had a solid (if not usage-heavy) year in 2018, but the Falcons appear pretty keen on freeing up a roster spot by having their tight ends do a little bit of both.

A similar fate may await Brian Hill. While Ito Smith and Qadree Ollison have been getting more run, Hill’s snap counts have been shrinking. The touchdown drop and a bit of slowdown in his running numbers may be to blame, or the Falcons might just be holding him in reserve because they already know where they want to slot him. As good as he’s been this summer, it’s hard to think he’s a lock to make it at this point, especially with Kenjon Barner strongly penciled in for a special teams role.

It’s notable, too, that the Falcons just keep mixing and matching receivers, and that they’re getting very little production out of doing so. Christian Blake led the team in receiver snaps and nearly had a nice catch, but after four preseason games not a single soul has up and run away with the presumptive sixth receiver job. One more shot left.

Defense

Austin Larkin: 36

Ryan Neal: 34

Deadrin Senat: 33

Duke Riley: 32

Sharrod Neasman: 30

Jordan Miller: 30

Jermaine Grace: 30

Chris Cooper: 29

Del’Shawn Phillips: 24

Blidi Wreh-Wilson: 21

John Cominsky: 19

Durrant Miles: 19

Jack Crawford: 19

Yurik Bethune: 18

Jacob Tuioti-Mariner: 18

Allen Bailey: 18

Isaiah Oliver: 16

Desmond Trufant: 16

Ricardo Allen: 16

Keanu Neal: 16

Kemal Ishmael: 15

Parker Baldwin: 15

Bruce Carter: 15

Ronald Martin: 15

Jayson Stanley: 15

De’Vondre Campbell: 14

Takk McKinley: 14

Ra’Shede Hageman: 14

Tre’ Crawford: 11

Chris Odom: 11

Grady Jarrett: 11

Taveze Calhoun: 9

Justin Zimmer: 8

Vic Beasley: 8

Jalen Myrick: 8

Chase Middleton: 7

Adrian Clayborn: 7

---

The Falcons have made it a priority to evaluate a handful of guys, and what they’ve seen from those evaluations has to be pretty encouraging. Austin Larkin has been one of the primary beneficiaries of Dan Quinn’s hungry eyes, and at worst Larkin has been quite solid. It may depend on how many defensive linemen the Falcons keep, but Larkin looks like a legitimate front runner.

The long looks for Jermaine Grace have been rewarded with excellent play on defense and special teams, and both Duke Riley and Deadrin Senat benefited from their first real, extended action of the preseason. All four players have a strong chance of making this roster, even if Larkin is still a bit of more a longshot.

The exception might be Ryan Neal, who has gotten a ton of run but has had some very shaky stretches. The Falcons appear to like him and his coverage has improved as the summer has gone on, meaning he could be in line for a practice squad spot at least.

Special Teams

Austin Larkin: 15

Duke Riley: 13

Sharrod Neasman: 13

Kemal Ishmael: 12

Del’Shawn Phillips: 11

Brian Hill: 10

Qadree Ollison: 10

Jordan Miller: 10

Jermaine Grace: 10

---

The usual suspects. Larkin, Neasman, Ishmael, Miller, Grace, and Riley are likely to make significant special teams contributions in 2019 8f they make the team. Phillips is still an interesting player due to a large role on defense, solid play on that side of the ball, and consistent special teams snaps. It would not be extremely stunning to see him sneak on to the team as one of the last guys on the roster, but it’s more likely he winds up on the practice squad given his strong preseason.