Marlon Davidson hasn’t had an injury designation for the past two weeks and has been a full participant in practice. However, the Falcons rookie has been held out of wins over the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos.
Considering his standing as a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Davidson entered this season with lofty expectations as a contributor on the defensive line. Thus far, he has only appeared in three games and totaled four tackles.
While Davidson hasn’t contributed as much as expected, Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris still believes he will emerge up front as the season progresses after the bye. Morris said Davidson has been inactive as a precautionary measure, since he was previously dealing with a knee injury and recovering from COVID-19.
“I’m not going to risk Marlon’s future or an investment by the Atlanta Falcons putting him out there in a troublesome situation,” Morris said. “We started off with this plan of him practicing a limited amount of reps in practice. You guys kind of saw that. Now, he’s gotten going. Last week was his first real week of getting a chance to get out there and get a full boatload of practice reps.”
Morris said he and Davidson have spoken about a plan for the young defensive tackle after the bye week. He added that the hope is to “see a brand new Marlon and see the Marlon that we’ve drafted.”
While the Falcons are awaiting a positive return from Davidson, they remain big believers in rookie cornerback A.J. Terrell. Morris employed a rotation at cornerback on Sunday, with Kendall Sheffield, Isaiah Oliver, Darqueze Dennard and Blidi Wreh-Wilson rotating among each other. Terrell, meanwhile, was the only one of the group to play 100% of the defensive snaps. In seven games played, Terrell has 34 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception.
Secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. has been pleased with how Terrell has performed but noted one area he can still improve.
“We have to control his eyes,” Whitt said. “He’s been beat on double moves in certain situations that he will improve on. You’ve seen the ability to tackle. He’s not afraid at all, he gets up and challenges, he presses and he gets his hands on people. He has found the ball. He’s going to find the ball even more.”
Offensive lineman Matt Hennessy, the team’s third-round draft choice, began the year rotating with James Carpenter at left guard. But since Morris took over as the team’s interim coach, all of the left guard reps have gone to Carpenter. Hennessy is now working as the team’s primary backup at left guard and center, which is the position he’s projected to play in future seasons.
Hennessy, a center in college at Temple, was drafted to be the heir apparent to Alex Mack, who is in the final year of his contract with the Falcons. Although he’s no longer getting game reps, offensive line coach Chris Morgan said he’s been pleased with Hennessy’s development in the early going.
“We’re moving Matt around a little bit,” Morgan said. “He’s still getting guard reps, he’s still getting center reps. He has been doing that since he got here. That part of it hasn’t really changed for him. If you’re not a starter, you’ve got to be a multiple -position guy.”
The two fourth-round selections -- linebacker Mykal Walker and safety Jaylinn Hawkins -- have been able to see some spot play this season. Hawkins saw 24 snaps against the Chicago Bears and 26 against the Green Bay Packers, although a concussion knocked him out of the Packers game prematurely. Available for the past two games, Hawkins has only seen snaps on special teams.
Walker has been a rotational presence on defense, subbing in for linebackers Foye Oluokun and Deion Jones on occasion. Walker’s most productive game came against the Bears, when Oluokun was out due to a hamstring injury. In that game, Walker tallied eight tackles and forced a fumble.
“Walker has been playing a significant role for us all year,” Morris said. “He goes out there in one of our base packages just to keep it simple. He’s been able to do those things. He’s done a nice job of filling in. When he goes in, right now for Foye or (Jones), he’s able to go out there and really not have much of a drop-off. He’s been doing a nice job there getting tackles, he’s getting better and better every single week.”
Credit: Curtis Compton
Credit: Curtis Compton
Punter Sterling Hofrichter, the Falcons' final selection of the 2020 draft in the seventh round, ranks 24th in the NFL in net punting average (38.5 yards per punt) and 29th in overall average (40.7). The overall average stat is actually last in the NFL among those eligible to be considered. While Hofrichter is tied for 20th in punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line with nine, he ranks tied for first with 15 fair catches forced.
Morris remains optimistic about Hofrichter’s future but said he would have liked for his two pooch punts late against Denver to be downed inside the 10-yard line. At the same time, he was impressed with Hofrichter’s ability to get the ball off on those attempts since he was facing an all-out rush.
“The poise that he’s been able to do and the focus this week was really getting the ball deep and outside of the numbers,” Morris said. “When he had those opportunities, he stepped up in a big way.”
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