FLOWERY BRANCH — Justin Shaffer, a former Georgia Bulldogs and Cedar Grove High standout, was released by the Falcons on Thursday.
Shaffer, who played in 51 games at Georgia, was drafted by the Falcons in the sixth round (190th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. A 6-foot-4, 330-pound guard who’ll turn 26 in June, Shaffer was the first player from Georgia drafted by the Falcons since Akeem Dent in 2011 (third round).
A former All-SEC second-team player, Shaffer couldn’t crack the Falcons’ interior offensive line rotation. He was surpassed by Ryan Neuzil, an undrafted free agent from Appalachian State, free agent Kyle Hinton and Jovaughn Gwyn, who was drafted in the seventh round out of South Carolina in the 2023 draft.
Also, when they needed someone to step forward at left guard, the Falcons drafted Matthew Bergeron in the second round of the 2023 draft out of Syracuse.
Bergeron started all 17 games last season. Neuzil served as the backup guard and center. Also, Hinton started one game at right guard for Chris Lindstrom last season.
Here’s the revised offseason depth chart without Shaffer:
OFFENSE
QB – Kirk Cousins, Taylor Heinicke
RB – Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Carlos Washington Jr.
FB – Tucker Fisk, Robert Burns
WR – Drake London, Josh Ali, Austin Mack
Slot WR – Rondale Moore, Ray-Ray McCloud
TE – Kyle Pitts, Charlie Woerner, John FitzPatrick
LT – Jake Matthews, Tyler Vrabel, Barry Wesley
LG – Matthew Bergeron, John Leglue
C – Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil, Jovaughn Gwyn
RG – Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton
RT – Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton, Ryan Swoboda
WR – Darnell Mooney, KhaDarel Hodge, Chris Blair
DEFENSE 3-4 alignment
DE – Zach Harrison, Kentavius Street, Demone Harris
NT – David Onyemata, LaCale London, Tommy Togiai
DT – Grady Jarrett, Kentavius Street, Ta’Quon Graham, Willington Previlon
LOLB – Arnold Ebiketie, Ade Ogundeji, Ikenna Enechukwu
LILB – Kaden Elliss, Donavan Mutin, Milo Eifler
RILB – Troy Andersen, Nate Landman
ROLB – Lorenzo Carter, DeAngelo Malone
CB – A.J. Terrell
Nickel CB – Mike Hughes, Dee Alford
FS – Jessie Bates III, Micah Abernathy, Tre Tarpley III
SS – DeMarcco Hellams, Richie Grant, Lukas Denis
CB – Clark Phillips III, Natrone Brooks
SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Younghoe Koo
P/H – Bradley Pinion
LS – Liam McCullough
PR – Ray-Ray McCloud or Avery Williams
KOR – Ray-Ray McCloud or Avery Williams
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