Falcons to address secondary in draft, free agency

The list of needs in the Falcons’ secondary is long. It could get longer with the impending free agency of safety Lawyer Milloy and cornerback Domonique Foxworth.

The Falcons are likely to address both secondary positions in free agency and the draft no matter what happens with the two, who will become free agents on Feb. 27.

Milloy provided leadership and stability to the Falcons young secondary last season. However, the Falcons must determine if Milloy, 35, has enough left to re-sign him.

“Lawyer played a significant role for us in 2008, both on the field and off as one of the team’s veteran leaders,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “As it pertains to the secondary, (coach Mike Smith) and I continue to discuss the players and their subsequent roles for the 2009 season, but nothing has been finalized at this time.”

Milloy said that he wants to hear from the Falcons first. The Tacoma, Wash. native has stated in the past that he’d like to finish his career with Seattle, where former Falcons coach Jim Mora is now the head coach.

Losing Milloy, who did not have a good game in the Falcons wildcard playoff lost to Arizona, would be a major issue.

Milloy and free safety Erik Coleman did an excellent job of being the last line of defense for the Falcons in 2008. Coleman led the team in solo tackles with 82 and Milloy was third with 76. They were second (127) and third (117) in overall tackles behind weakside linebacker Keith Brooking (133).

It is a strong year in the draft at the safety position. Some of the top prospects include Missouri’s William Moore, Alabama’s Rashad Johnson, Troy State’s Sherrod Martin and Western Michigan’s Louis Delmas.

Some teams will look at Martin, of Griffin, Ga., as a cornerback.

In addition to Milloy, the Falcons are attempting to re-sign Foxworth, who was their top cornerback last season after being acquired in a trade with Denver.

Foxworth took over at left cornerback and started the final 10 games, had 11 passes defensed and one interception. His numbers weren’t gaudy, but most teams elected to throw more at right cornerback Chris Houston.

“We would like to have Domonique back,” Dimitroff said. “He has a tough decision to make as well.”

Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha, Indianapolis’ Kelvin Hayden and Houston’s Dunta Robinson are considered the top two free-agent cornerbacks. Asomugha and Hayden are expected to receive their team’s franchise tags, and play for $9.957 million next year.

The Falcons know that Foxworth may land a big contract on the free-agent market.

“Let’s face it, the corner market is going to be a lucrative market,” Dimitroff said. “There are just some big decisions. As I understand it, he’d like to play in Atlanta and we’d like to have him back here. Time will tell in free agency where Domonique lands.”

The two sides have had on-going discussions.

“Thomas … and I have spoken on a number of occasions,” said Brian Mackler, Foxworth’s agent. “We’ll meet again this week at the [NFL scouting] combine.”

The Falcons gave up 220.4 yards passing last season, 21st in the league. They want to improve the right cornerback position where Houston struggled with staying physical in coverage. Nickel back Chevis Jackson was solid covering slot receivers.

Von Hutchins, a free-agent signee last season, missed the season after suffering a broken foot on the first day of training camp. He’s expected to compete for the nickel back position and Jackson is expected to get a shot at beating out Houston or replacing Foxworth.

“The cornerback situation will be very competitive,” Dimitroff said. “There are some opportunities in the free-agent market as well as the draft class that makes this a solid forum to select players at both levels.”