The Falcons traded up into the sixth round to select Russell Gage. They loved his versatility, which was on full display Friday at the first day of rookie minicamp.
Gage, a receiver and special-teams ace, worked as a cornerback. He played cornerback for two seasons at LSU before moving to receiver.
“I thought OK, why not take a look,” coach Dan Quinn said. “He’s such a good competitor. He said ‘yep, whatever you need coach.’ So we knew we’d try him one day at receiver, one day at corner just to make sure. He’s a hell of a competitor, so I’m anxious to go back and look at it today.”
Gage had just 26 catches in his college career. Twenty-one of those came a season ago, when he collected 285 yards and three touchdowns.
Quinn liked what Gage offered as a special-teams player. While his athletic ability didn’t translate to much production, the Falcons saw him as multi-faceted contributor.
But cornerback was unexpected. Gage didn’t flash much at the position Friday, but shadowed his man without any issues.
“It’s been two years since he’s done it, so we’ll go back and take a look,” Quinn said.
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