Despite challenging offseason, Falcons rookies are impressing Dan Quinn

The news isn’t getting better, but we’re still hoping against hope that the NFL season happens. If it does, the Falcons are going to be counting heavily on some of their rookies to step up and play well, with first round selection A.J. Terrell, second rounder Marlon Davidson, and third rounder Matt Hennessy leading the charge in that regard.

Given that, it’s nice to hear Dan Quinn praising the rookie class, as he did earlier this week. It’s even better to hear him single out Terrell and Hennessy, the two Falcon rookie who will likely to be full-time starters if all goes well, as being particularly quick to learn what DQ is trying to impart.

This jibes with the reputations for both players. Terrell is said to be a natural student and got a ton of starting experience against quality receivers at Clemson, both of which have likely helped him pick up the defense here in the early going. Hennessy has the same kind of reputation coming from Temple, and it’s even more encouraging to hear this about him in some ways because unlike Terrell, he’s not necessarily guaranteed a starting gig out of the gate.

This is an encouraging note because this has been such a strange offseason, and it goes without saying that rookies are going to have a tougher road this season because of the lack of a traditional, full offseason, as we’ve already missed rookie minicamp, OTAs, and may be missing some training camp and preseason games. If Quinn’s happy with the progression from the rookies in the early going, hopefully it’ll carry over nicely to the season, whenever it shall be.