The Falcons finished their 2023 draft by taking two SEC team captains with consecutive picks.
The team selected Alabama safety DeMarcco Hellams and South Carolina guard Jovaughn Gwyn with the 224th and 225th picks, respectively. Both players, obviously, face uphill climbs to make the team but nonetheless have some appealing qualities.
“Those guys are highly productive players in the SEC,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Played in a lot of big-time games and type environments. And they show up week in and week out. So we’re very excited to add them to the program.”
Hellams, 22, led Alabama with 108 tackles last season. He had 255 tackles (7.5 for loss), 2.5 sacks and four interceptions over 40 games in his collegiate career. He also has experience playing special teams, which he’ll have to do if he’s going to make an NFL roster.
Hellams said he brings versatility and tenacity to the Falcons. “My style of play, I’m a versatile (defensive back),” he said. “I play all over the field. I play on all levels of the field. I’m a leader for the team and in the secondary. Atlanta is getting a very good player.”
General manager Terry Fontenot stressed Hellams was “productive, tough and smart.”
As for playing at Alabama, where Hellams won a championship in 2020, he added: “It’s definitely going to help me at the next level, playing against the best competition. … Being coached by coach (Nick) Saban, I’ve seen a lot of defenses and know defenses well.”
Gwyn, meanwhile, was a fifth-year senior who started 47 consecutive games for the Gamecocks (the second-longest such run in program history). He can play any of the interior-line positions, which will be necessarily to stick on the team. He played primarily right guard, though he played some center in the Gamecocks’ bowl game against Notre Dame. The Falcons will use him as a guard.
“I’ll play wherever they need me to play,” Gwyn said. “I haven’t talked with them about it, we’ll see once I get there. I’m willing to do whatever they ask me.”
Fontenot described Gwyn as “versatile, smart, tough, highly competitive.” Smith praised Gwyn’s leadership.
“You talk about a guy you consistently see finish over and over and over again,” Smith said. “Not just in the big games when you’re looking at them. And when they’re down, how they played in the fourth quarter. That’s a guy - you know exactly what you’re bringing into this building.”
Gwyn was a team captain, won the program’s strength-and-conditioning award, and a semifinalist for the William B. Campbell Trophy (the academic Heisman) last season. Coaches voted him second-team All-SEC.
These were the first seventh-round selections under the Falcons’ current regime. The team has used three sixths over the past two drafts but hadn’t picked a player with a seventh until Saturday.
About the Author
