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FLOWERY BRANCH – There were a few surprises as the Falcons cutdown to a 52-man roster on Saturday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY ON THE CUTS WITH QUOTES FROM Arthur Blank, Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn.
Here are five quick observations:
1. WHO'S NUMBER 53?: They Falcons are closely watching the cuts to fill that 53rd spot. The Falcons look a little thin along the offensive line. (Updated depth chart below)
2. Williams lands a spot: Wide receiver Nick Williams, who was highly productive during the exhibition season, made the initial 52-man roster. Williams led the Falcons with 17 catches for 157 yards in the exhibition season.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
3. Southward makes it through. Also, Dezmen Southward, who the team is converting to cornerback after drafting him to play free safety, made the roster. He can contribute on special teams while learning how to play better in coverage at cornerback.
4. Ward makes it. Gil "The Godfather" Brandt tipped us off about Ward early. Ward, the brother of Denver Broncos standout safety T.J. Ward, was the only undrafted running back signed by the Falcons this offseason.
He received plenty of work after running backs Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman suffered hamstring injuries on Aug. 5 and 6, respectively.
In college, he rushed for a career-high 696 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Oregon State Beavers in 2014. He suffered a season-ending knee injury (torn meniscus) in Oregon State’s upset of Arizona State in November.
He finished his career with 1,843 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns. He also had 87 receptions for 664 receiving yards and was a key player on special teams.
5. Therezie impresses. Undrafted rookie safety Robensen Therezie, of Auburn, impressed the staff.
He played in 49 games with 25 starts for the Tigers while totaling 116 tackles (83 solo) with 8.5 tackles for loss, one half sack, nine quarterback hurries, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. He was an honorable mention All-SEC selection in 2013 after leading Auburn with four interceptions.
HERE'S A LOOK AT THE UPDATED PROJECTED DEPTH CHART
OFFENSE
WR 11 Julio Jones, 85 Leonard Hankerson, 14 Eric Weems
LT 70 Jake Matthews, 79 Tyler Polumbus,
LG Andy Levitre, 68 Mike Person,
C 62 James Stone, 61 Joe Hawley
RG 65 Chris Chester
RT 73 Ryan Schraeder
TE 83 Jacob Tamme, 80 Levine Toilolo
WR 84 Roddy White, 17 Devin Hester, 16 Justin Hardy, 15 Nick Williams,
QB 2 Matt Ryan, 12 Sean Renfree
RB 24 Devonta Freeman, 26 Tevin Coleman, 33 Terron Ward
FB 42 Patrick DiMarco
DEFENSE
DE 44 Vic Beasley Jr., 71 Kroy Biermann, 93 Malliciah Goodman
DT 77 Ra’Shede Hageman, 95 Jonathan Babineaux, 97 Grady Jarrett
NT 96 Paul Soliai
DE 94 Tyson Jackson, 99 Adrian Clayborn,
LB 52 Justin Durant, 59 Joplo Bartu,
LB 55 Paul Worrilow, 54 Nate Stupar, 53 Allen Bradford
LB 56 Brooks Reed, 50 O’Brien Schofield
CB 23 Robert Alford, 32 Jalen Collins
CB 21 Desmond Trufant, 20 Phillip Adams, 22 Dezmen Southward
S 37 Ricardo Allen, 48 Robenson Therezie
S 25 William Moore, 36 Kemal Ishmael, 30 Charles Godfrey
SPECIALISTS
K 3 Matt Bryant
KO 5 Matt Bosher
P 5 Matt Bosher
KR 17 Devin Hester, 14 Eric Weems
PR 17 Devin Hester, 14 Eric Weems
LS 47 Josh Harris
H 5 Matt Bosher
