Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, contact between the players and coaches has been severely limited and mostly taken place over the phone. Dan Quinn spoke to the media about that today and said that they have been using testing apps to quiz the players to see how fast they can pick things up. As far as the rookies go, first-round pick A.J. Terrell and third-round selection Matt Hennessy stood out in that regard.
Dan Quinn talked about using testing apps to quiz the players on how quickly they picked up on things. Went on to single out A J Terrell, Matt Hennessy for leading the group of rookies in that aspect pic.twitter.com/fTa1LM6lMW
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) June 15, 2020
With the way things are trending, who knows when training camp will take place or how much the preseason will be reduced. Because of this, rookies are going to have to pick up on things much quicker, which isn’t ideal for any organization, but especially for the Falcons, who are counting on multiple rookies to have an immediate impact.
A.J. Terrell looks to have the inside track to be one of the starting corners on the outside after Atlanta drafted him 16th overall. That’s a difficult task for any rookie, especially with a limited offseason, so it’s at least promising to know he’s picking up on schemes quickly while maintaining social distancing.
Matt Hennessy is the heir apparent to Alex Mack, who is entering his age-34 season and the final year of his contract, at center. However, Hennessy will also be competing for the starting job at left guard. I don’t want to put too much weight into some offseason testing; however, it does provide some hope that he could possibly be the final piece this offensive line needs to become a wrecking ball as it was during the 2016 season.
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