Falcons coach Arthur Smith had first-round rookie tight end Kyle Pitts dress out for the exhibition opener against the Titans on Friday, but he did not play.
“Like I said earlier in the week, we feel like he’s right on schedule,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Wanted him to go through the routine of getting to the stadium, going through the warm-ups.”
Several veterans also didn’t play, but they didn’t dress out. Pitts will get some action against the Dolphins in the joint practices Wednesday and Thursday and then in the second exhibition game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
“This week is going to be big for him, going down to Miami,” Smith said. “It’s a very aggressive and very talented secondary. Kyle is right on schedule. If we felt he was behind, we probably would have put him out there.”
Undrafted rookie linebacker Dorian Etheridge took advantage of his playing time and finished with 13 tackles, including three tackles for losses.
Overall, Smith was pleased with the play of the rookies
“Defensively you could feel Ade (Ogundeji),” Smith said. “I don’t want to give a snap judgment until I see the whole thing (on film), but you could feel some of those guys. The defensive line, I thought the inside linebackers, all those guys, we could feel them. That was encouraging.”
Here’s how the rest of the rookies performed against the Titans:
Richie Grant, S, Central Florida -- Second round (40th overall): He opened the game on the kickoff coverage team and made the tackle. He finished with three tackles on defense over 38 snaps (57%) and played 12 plays (44%) on special teams.
Jalen Mayfield, G, Michigan -- Third round (68th overall): He started at right tackle and played 27 snaps (50%). He played two snaps on special teams (7%). He had an illegal-formation penalty that nullified a 16-yard gain on a third-and-9.
“It’s good, kind of got his feet wet,” Smith said. “We’ve got to look at it, see how he finished, how his technique was. I’ve got to go back and look at the penalty.”
The offense never got moving after that penalty.
“You convert and then you get pushed back off the penalty,” Smith said. “Again, I don’t want to overreact (until) I see it. At the end of the day, they called it.”
Darren Hall, CB, San Diego State -- Fourth round (108th overall): He played 19 snaps (28%) and nine special-teams snaps (33%).
Drew Dalman, C, Stanford -- Fourth round (114th overall): He started the game at center and played 27 snaps (50%) and two on special teams (7%).
Ta’Quon Graham, DT, Texas -- Fifth round (148th overall): He was active over 32 snaps (46%) and he played four snaps on special teams. He left the game with a hand injury. He finished with a tackle.
Adetokunbo Ogundeji, OLB, Notre Dame -- Fifth round (182nd overall): One of the stars of training camp, had three tackles and shared a sack with inside linebacker Mykal Walker. He also had a quarterback hit, but was called for a neutral-zone infraction.
Avery Williams, CB, Boise State -- Fifth round (183th overall): He played 21 snaps (31%) and 14 on special teams (52%). He had a tackle and a pass breakups. He had two punt returns for 20 yards and three kickoff returns for 85 yards, including a long of 38 yards.
Sixth round (187th overall) – Frank Darby, WR, Arizona State: He’s a deep threat, but because of the poor blocking by the line, the quarterbacks didn’t have time to drive the ball down the field. He played 32 snaps (59%).
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
UNDRAFTED STANDOUTS
Javian Hawkins, RB, Louisville: He had five carries for 2 yards.
Caleb Huntley, RB, Ball State (Locust Grove HS): He had six carries for 18 yards.
Feleipe Franks, QB, Arkansas: He completed 2 of 9 passes for 16 yards and was sacked three times. He rushed four times for 76 yards, including a 52-yard gain.
Kion Smith, OT, Fayetteville State: He played 27 snaps, (50%).
Dorian Etheridge, ILB, Louisville: He finished with 13 tackles over 46 defensive snaps (69%) and played 13 plays on special teams (48%).
Marcus Murphy, CB, Mississippi State: He may have cut himself when he drew a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a fourth-and-7. The Titans made the field goal, but took the points off the board. They went on to score a touchdown.
OFFICIAL DNP LIST FOR FALCONS: QB 2 M. Ryan, TE 8 K. Pitts,
P 9 D. Maggio, WR 14 R. Gage, WR 17 O. Zaccheaus,
WR 18 C. Ridley, DB 20 K. Sheffield, S 21 D. Harmon,
CB 22 F. Moreau, S 23 E. Harris, CB 24 A. Terrell, CB 26 I. Oliver,
RB 28 M. Davis, RB 30 Q. Ollison, FB 40 K. Smith, ILB 45 D. Jones,
ILB 54 F. Oluokun, OLB 55 S. Means, OLB 56 D. Fowler,
OL 61 M. Hennessy, G 63 C. Lindstrom, T 70 J. Matthews,
OL 74 W. Sweet, T 76 K. McGary, TE 81 H. Hurst,
WR 82 A. Trammell, RB 84 C. Patterson, TE 85 L. Smith,
DL 96 T. Davison, DL 97 G. Jarrett
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