Falcons player profile: CB Jordan Miller

We’re finally approaching the beginning of the 2020 NFL season, with only a week left until the first games kick off. I’ll be continuing my Player Profile series in the meantime, where we’ll take a look at each of the players on Atlanta’s roster. I’ll break down their measurables, past production, and try to project their 2020 season with the Falcons.

After taking a look at the projected starters, we now turn our attention to the depth on the Falcons’ roster. Today I’ll be discussing CB Jordan Miller—a 2019 fifth-round pick who is currently in the midst of a 4-game PED suspension heading into the 2020 season.

CB Jordan Miller

Age: 23

Contract: $733K cap hit in 2020, rookie contract through 2022 ($797K APY)

Career Production: 10 games played | 4 total tackles, 0% missed tackle rate | 66.7% completion percentage allowed, 93.7 passer rating allowed | 55.7 overall PFF grade

2019 Production: Same as above

Previous Teams: Drafted in the 5th round (#172 overall) by the Atlanta Falcons (2019-present)

Measurables:

The Falcons were serious about improving their CB depth prior to the 2019 season after losing both Robert Alford and Brian Poole in free agency. To address these issues, the team added two CBs in the 2019 NFL Draft: Kendall Sheffield in the fourth round, and Jordan Miller in the fifth round. Sheffield would wind up playing a starting role partway through the season, while Miller would only play a handful of snaps. However, Miller has some developmental upside due to his athleticism and exceptional size at 6’1, 190.

Miller spent his college career at Washington, which has become a bit of an NFL pipeline for DBs in recent years. He began to build a reputation as a potential high-level NFL prospect heading into his junior year in 2017, but suffered a season-ending injury. Miller returned in 2018 and played all 12 games, but was noticeably slowed by the injury. That led to his stock falling into the Day 3 range, where the Falcons scooped him up based on his potential and size.

Miller definitely fits the mold of an outside CB in Dan Quinn’s defense with his exceptional length and solid long speed. He didn’t get many opportunities to play in 2019 and compounded that with a 4-game PED suspension, which was levied before the final week of the season. That means Miller still has to sit out 3 games in 2020, which further complicates his future in Atlanta. He’ll remain off the roster until at least Week 4, when the Falcons will have to make a decision regarding his status on the 53-man roster.

Projection: Jordan Miller would probably have been a roster lock due to his prototypical size and fifth-round draft stock, but complicated things with a 4-game PED suspension. Miller has potential as a rotational outside CB—and perhaps even a future starter—but will have to prove he’s better than players like Blidi Wreh-Wilson or Josh Hawkins to return to the 53-man roster in 2020.