Falcons’ options at right tackle feel risky

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons right tackle Jawaan Taylor has returned to the realm of the officially healthy.

How much that improves the team’s prospects is unclear.

The April retirement of Kaleb McGary, followed by backup tackle Storm Norton in June being declared out for the season, left a gaping hole at the position charged with protecting the blindside of left-handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (or fellow lefty Michael Penix Jr.).

The leading candidate to fill that spot is Taylor, a free-agent signee from the Chiefs who was taken off the active/physically unable to perform list on Monday after having been placed on it at the start of training camp.

But Taylor or the Falcons’ other options don’t lend the most confidence that they will be trustworthy contributors as the franchise aims to end its eight-year playoff drought.

It feels like a risk, particularly given that neither Tagovailoa nor Penix has proven the sturdiest of quarterbacks.

Monday, I asked coach Kevin Stefanski about his level of confidence in Taylor to be a productive player.

“Obviously, he hasn’t been in there yet, but has been extremely dialed-in in meetings as he gets his body ready,” the Falcons’ first-year coach said. “So I’m very confident in how he’s prepared, to date, and now with this next step of coming off the (PUP) list, where he can do a little more, can get in uniform and go join the team, I think we’ll see him continue to make strides.”

Note: Stefanski did not state his confidence level in Taylor’s ability.

The 28-year-old Taylor has plenty of experience. He has started 111 games in seven seasons and helped the Chiefs win the Super Bowl in the 2023 season and reach the Super Bowl again a year later.

But this would also seem instructive about the former Florida Gator, who was available after the Chiefs released him just before the start of the free-agency period in March.

When the Falcons signed him in April, it was long after the rush had passed.

Taylor was added to the roster as a response to Kaleb McGary, the Falcons starter at right tackle from 2019-24 before missing the 2025 season with a leg injury and announcing his retirement.

Another indicator of his value is that the Falcons signed him to a one-year, $5 million contract with no guaranteed money, according to Spotrac. For context, as of Monday, there were 49 right tackles in the NFL on contracts with at least $1 million of fully guaranteed money, according to Over The Cap. Sixteen had at least $20 million of fully guaranteed money.

Taylor’s Pro Football Focus grade placed him 80th of 89 tackles.

There’s the possibility that Taylor, whose 2025 season ended with an elbow injury, outplays his contract and gives the Falcons a stable presence at a critical position. But there is also the possibility that Taylor proves to be the player that all 32 teams let go unsigned for four weeks and compromises the offense.

And if that’s the case, the options behind him don’t look especially promising, either. The Falcons were counting on Norton, but he has been lost for the season to injury for a second year in a row.

Norton’s designation to the reserve/PUP list in June prompted the Falcons to trade for another Chiefs offensive tackle, Wanya Morris. Morris is a Grayson High grad who has started 16 games in his first three seasons. But Morris is out with a toe injury.

Thus far in camp, Brandon Walton, Michael Jerrell and rookie Ethan Onianwa have taken snaps with the first-team offense at right tackle.

Walton has started two games in a four-year NFL career. Jerrell, a two-year NFL vet, has started three. Onianwa, taken in the seventh round from Ohio State, didn’t actually start for the Buckeyes in 2025 after transferring from Rice.

Onianwa has stood out in recent practices. He has held his own in one-on-one pass-rush drills. Monday, he thwarted edge rusher James Pearce Jr. in a pass-rush drill.

Onianwa credited offensive-line coach Bill Callahan and veterans Chris Lindstrom, Jake Matthews and Matthew Bergeron for helping slow down chaotic practice repetitions that he likened to the “Star Wars” scene when Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star.

“I’ve been able to learn so much,” Onianwa said after Monday’s practice. “Now I have more confidence going into team (periods), going into individuals and one-on-ones just because I’ve prepared for this and I’ve really come a long way since I first came here.”

The Falcons’ first choice figures to be Taylor. Monday, when the offensive line practiced run-blocking drills in guard-tackle pairings, Taylor took his reps alongside Lindstrom, the All-Pro right guard.