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Atlanta Falcons

5 things learned at Falcons’ first padded practice

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Falcons rookie tight end Kyle Pitts makes the catch with cornerback A.J. Terrell arriving for the stop the first day in pads at training camp Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Flowery Branch. (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com) (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@)
D. Orlando Ledbetter
By D. Orlando Ledbetter

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons, who didn’t tackle to the ground, held their first padded practice of training camp Tuesday.

“It went relatively well,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “A good back and forth. Obviously, you’re coming off a day off, it was a really spirited practice out there. Really good give and take. Like I said, we are pressing those guys and being aggressive. We’ll work in some more situational football.”

Here are five things we learned from their day on the practice field:

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1. Kyle Pitts’ mega-catch: Falcons rookie tight end Kyle Pitts captivated the fans on the hill when he soared over cornerback Fabian Moreau to get his hands on a high pass from Matt Ryan in the end zone. He kept battling and came down with the ball.

2. Offensive line: Rookie offensive lineman Drew Dalman, who was taken in the fourth round of the NFL draft out of Stanford, was playing center with the second-team offensive line. He was rotating with Josh Andrews at left guard with the first-team line.

3. Hitting. There was no tackling to the ground, but the offensive and defensive linemen went at it pretty good during one session.

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