The Falcons brought five tryout players in for minicamp, including players with ties to the coaching staff and front office. In the end, they wound up signing former Broncos linebacker Jeff Holland.
An undrafted free agent out of Auburn back in 2018, Holland is still just 23 years old, but hasn’t been able to latch on with a team for any length of time to this point. He had a tryout with the Raiders last August but was not on a roster or practice squad for the 2020 season, but the Falcons liked what they saw from him this week enough to add him to the mix at linebacker. Holland fills the spot vacated by Julio Jones, who was traded to the Titans this week.
Holland brings a little bit of pass rushing promise to the mix, and he’ll hope to catch on at the back end of the outside linebacker rotation in Atlanta. He had 9.5 sacks his junior year at Auburn before entering the NFL and his scouting report on NFL.com mentions his strength and tenacity as pluses. The Falcons have a number of options at outside linebacker in Dean Pees’ hybrid front but few established, high-end ones, which gives Holland at least a small chance to push his way onto the roster with a stronger summer.
Give him a warm welcome to Atlanta!