The Falcons‘ defensive turnaround has been nothing short of a miracle, which can be attributed to the personnel changes on the roster and coaching staff.
Ryan Nielsen’s role cannot be overlooked because of the depth chart overhaul. The former Saints co-defensive coordinator has been instrumental in Atlanta being arguably one of the 10 best units in the league.
However, even the best minds in football need talent, which Nielsen got this offseason. Terry Fontenot went out in free agency and inked Jessie Bates, Kaden Elliss, David Onyemata, Bud Dupree, and Calais Campbell to deals. They’ve been the core of improvement.
There were pieces in place that they joined. A.J. Terrell has returned to that elite corner we saw in 2021; Grady Jarrett was experiencing the best year of his career before going down with a season-ending injury, and the influx of veterans was supposed to improve the play of the youngsters.
It was supposed to be Troy Andersen next to Kaden Elliss having a breakout campaign, but instead, it’s been undrafted free agent Nate Landman, who was actually in the top three of the most recent Pro Bowl voting.
On the backend, it was supposed to be Richie Grant taking the next step in his development next to Jessie Bates, and Jeff Okudah finally finding some consistency opposite A.J. Terrell.
For a group that has experienced a ton of success this season, there have been supreme individual disappointments. Grant and Okudah were both highly drafted defensive backs and have recently been relegated to reserve roles behind a pair of rookies.
Seventh-round pick DeMarcco Hellams has taken over for Grant, and fifth-round pick Clark Phillips III has taken over for Okudah.
Clark Phillips III and DeMarcco Hellams appear to have officially unseated Jeff Okudah and Richie Grant as starters in Atlanta's secondary.
Snap counts from Sunday:
Phillips 67, Okudah 4
Hellams 68, Grant 27Also of note – another week with no defensive snaps for Dee Alford.
— Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) December 26, 2023
To be fair, this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison.
Okudah was acquired in exchange for a fifth-rounder and wasn’t expected to look like a third overall pick. The compensation in the trade was evidence of just where the Ohio State product was in his career.
It’s not exactly the worst thing in the world for the Falcons to have a fifth-round rookie breakout at the expense of Okudah, who is in the final year of his rookie contract and cost the team a Day 3 pick.
However, the same cannot be said for Richie Grant. The Falcons spent a second-round pick on the UCF product, and he’s officially been supplanted as a starter by a rookie seventh-rounder in Hellams. That’s a terrible look for this regime and for Grant himself, who I was very high on coming out of college.
He just hasn’t quite developed into the player many had hoped and expected. It’s an unfortunate reality of this league.
On the one hand, the Falcons have seemingly found starters at safety and corner in the seventh and fifth rounds, respectively. On the other hand, they also seemingly wasted a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick on Grant and Okudah, respectively.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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