Falcons snap counts from a frustrating loss to the Jaguars

Offense

Desmond Ridder: 58

Jake Matthews: 58

Matthew Bergeron: 58

Drew Dalman: 58

Chris Lindstrom: 58

Kaleb McGary: 58

Drake London: 50

Mack Hollins: 46

Bijan Robinson: 44

Kyle Pitts: 37

Jonnu Smith: 32

MyCole Pruitt: 19

Keith Smith: 17

Tyler Allgeier: 15

KhaDarel Hodge: 14

Scotty Miller: 14

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Kyle Pitts played his lowest share of snaps since Week 1, and in general tight end snap counts were depressed slightly this week even though Jonnu Smith went nuts. Arthur Smith finally all but admitted something we’ve suspected off and on all season, in particular after that Detroit deep ball that Desmond Ridder and Pitts couldn’t connect on: He’s still recovering from his injury and isn’t all the way back yet.

We don’t know when Pitts will be 100%, but we do know the team has to figure out the way to get him the ball more consistently regardless of the exact percentage. While they work that out, it appears Smith has emerged as one of Ridder’s favored targets, as his yards after the catch ability and sure hands are as advertised. It would not shock me to see him and Pitts effectively playing the same number of snaps for a little bit.

Atlanta’s usage for Miller is not shocking given a third receiver’s lacking utility in Arthur Smith’s offense, but he’s now played a total of 44 snaps without a single target despite being one of the true speed threats on this offense. Not so for Hodge, who appears to be the team’s actual WR3 and is counted upon to deliver the occasional catch and solid block for this offense. I have a feeling that Miller’s snaps will all but evaporate when Cordarrelle Patterson is back, as the team will elect to use him as a receiver a times.

Otherwise, what’s to be said? This group is too talented for the results to be this poor.

Defense

Richie Grant: 66

A.J. Terrell: 66

Jessie Bates: 66

Kaden Elliss: 66

Nate Landman: 54

Grady Jarrett: 49

Bud Dupree: 49

Jeff Okudah: 49

David Onyemata: 44

Dee Alford: 40

Calais Campbell: 39

Arnold Ebiketie: 28

Mike Hughes: 27

Zach Harrison: 20

Lorenzo Carter: 17

Ta’Quon Graham: 17

Timothy Horne: 17

DeMarcco Hellams: 12

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Noticeable changes here. At least for one game, everyone’s preseason hero DeMarcco Hellams was the third safety, getting 12 snaps. Hellams is a rock solid player this coaching staff clearly likes a lot, and if he’s passing impending free agent Jaylinn Hawkins on the depth chart, that’s a very good sign for his future just four games into his career. We need to see it more than one week before we declare that settled.

It was a quiet effort for Arnold Ebiketie, but it’s encouraging to see his snaps pick up again after he didn’t get much in the way of playing time in Week 3. The production will come with the opportunity over time, and with Lorenzo Carter settling into a smaller role, we may even see DeAngelo Malone at some point.

Landman filled in as expected with the majority of the snaps, and as anticipated, looked pretty solid doing so. There are going to be coverage assignments that are more difficult for him than they would be for Troy Andersen, and he doesn’t quite bring the same alarming speed to bear, but Landman is solid, physical, and rugged in a way that fits well with Ryan Nielsen’s ethos. He’ll likely have the job the rest of the season, and is a gem of an undrafted free agent pickup for this team.

Timothy Horne was elevated again, and once again was solid, with Albert Huggins and Joe Gaziano not active. There seems to be a pretty strong chance that one of those players will be headed to the practice squad in favor of Horne, whose utility against the run should make him a permanent piece of this defense sooner than later.

Finally, Jeff Okudah’s back! He was targeted just once and credited with zero catches allowed, a very positive sign for a player who was also able to play the majority of the defensive snaps for the Falcons. Getting him back out there should improve a secondary that has already been doing quality work this season.

Special teams

Tae Davis: 21

Jaylinn Hawkins: 21

DeAngelo Malone: 17

Keith Smith: 16

KhaDarel Hodge: 14

Zach Harrison: 13

DeMarcco Hellams: 13

Tre Flowers: 13

Richie Grant: 12

Andre Smith Jr: 10

Dee Alford: 9

Nate Landman: 8

Scotty Miller: 8

Bradley Pinion: 6

Calais Campbell: 6

Mike Hughes: 6

John FitzPatrick: 6

Cordarrelle Patterson: 6

Liam McCullough: 6

David Onyemata: 5

Lorenzo Carter: 5

Ta’Quon Graham: 5

Jake Matthews: 1

Matthew Bergeron: 1

Ryan Neuzil: 1

Storm Norton: 1

Kyle Hinton: 1

Younghoe Koo: 1

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Hellams was a personal protector on punts in place of Troy Andersen, which means his role is growing on both defense and special teams. The Falcons love this guy, and it shows. If he continues to pick up a role on defense, it won’t impact Hawkins’ on special teams, where he is one of the team’s core guys and has been for years now.

Otherwise, the unusual note here is that Younghoe Koo got no shot at a field goal try and just one extra point, which doesn’t happen all that often.