Falcons draft Alabama S DeMarcco Hellams with pick No. 224 in 7th Round

Following a very long wait in between Atlanta’s initial day 3 selection of Clark Phillips III in the fourth round, due to a lack of fifth and sixth round picks, the Atlanta Falcons selected DeMarcco Hellams with pick number 224 in the final round, enhancing their safety depth.

Hellams led the University of Alabama defense with 108 tackles in 2022, and forced 7 incompletions (third among SEC safeties). His PFF 86.8 run defense grade was second on the team behind Brian Branch. He started all 13 games for the Crimson Tide in 2022.

The safety out of Bama is a strong candidate to make the 53-man roster, as well as to contribute on special teams due to his physicality. He is a plus run defender who now joins Jessie Bates, Richie Grant and Jaylinn Hawkins on the depth chart at safety if he makes the roster.

Hellams does have below average recovery speed if he does get beat in coverage. He will have to stick to the team on special teams to begin his career, but while his agility is poor he has ideal size and strength and could even end up transitioning to linebacker in the future. At the very least, he’s an interesting player to keep an eye on this summer as the team fills out the back part of their roster.