FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons defensive tackle Ta’Quon Graham is rounding back into form after suffering a season-ending left knee injury (medial collateral ligament) in November.
Last season, Graham, a fifth-round pick out of Texas in the 2021 draft, had stepped forward to help stabilize the defensive line and give Pro Bowl defensive end Grady Jarrett some help. He beat out Marlon Davidson for the position. Davidson was released and since signed with San Francisco.
Graham, 6-foot-4 and 307 pounds, started nine of 11 games and had played 471 defensive snaps (62%) before he was injured in the 27-24 win over the Bears on Nov. 20. He was carted off the field.
Graham, who came back over the offseason, had 34 tackles and eight quarterback hits.
Grahams is off to a strong start in training camp.
“He’s coming back, and physically he looks great,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said.
It was a long road back for Graham.
“A lot of times people don’t take into consideration the mental hurdles,” Smith said. " Anybody that’s ever had their own injuries, certainly in sports, (there’s) that … mental part, for a lot of guys, is the last step. But I think TQ looks good overall.”
Graham agreed that his mental approach to his return was key.
“I think the toughest part of the injury, I would say, is the mental game,” Graham said. “Just watching from home. Watching the TV and seeing the guys playing and stuff. That was really hard on me.”
Graham was a stalwart in college at Texas, where he played in 48 games and made 24 starts from 2017-20.
”I never ever missed the season like that before, missed that amount of time because of injury,” Graham said. “But I just was itching to get back out there. I know the rehab process was a little long, but it was all worth it at the end of the day to touch back on the field.”
Graham returned to practice June 7 during the offseason program. He started to get more comfortable later in the OTAs.
“I probably say I did a complete practice like the last week of OTAs,” Graham said. “Just getting through (the OTA) helped me build my confidence going into camp. And really then (Monday), that first day of pads, now I’m realizing all right, now I’m all right.”
Now, Graham can start moving forward and get his career back on track.
“I just need to push through some of these things,” Graham said. “Some of the things I’m feeling, you know, deal with the soreness and just understand that I got a new body now. I’ve just got to keep pushing myself.”
While Graham was rehabbing, the Falcons were stockpiling help for the defensive line. They signed defensive tackle David Onyemata to a three-year, $26 million contract and added veteran defensive ends Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree.
Onyemata and Jarrett likely will start, while Graham and Timothy Horne could provide defensive tackle depth the Falcons haven’t seen in years.
“It’s definitely nice, having some guys like David,” Graham said. “I know, Calais isn’t out there right now, but just him being in the meeting room, dropping a lot of knowledge. We really didn’t have too many vets in the room last year.”
The veterans from different teams have experiences, coach relationships and the intricacies of other systems to share.
“They are taking pieces of what they learned along the way and also teaching them to us,” Graham said.
Graham likes that new defensive coordinator Ryan Neilsen works with the defensive line every day.
“I think it’s all tying together,” Graham said.
Graham also approves of Nielsen’s high-energy approach.
“He’s definitely always on 10,” Graham said. “He’s definitely meticulous about everything that he wants done. And I think that we have a new sense of things that we want to do and things that we want to get done. I think he’s doing a great job of coaching us and going in that direction.”
Nielsen has said the defense will attack and be aggressive. But that doesn’t mean they’ll just be expected to penetrate upfront.
“There’s going to be times where we play a certain way,” Graham said. “Other times that we don’t. I think it’s just going to depend on who our opponent is and what we’re trying to get done upfront. If we’re trying to run some games or if we are trying to take advantage of matchups? It just depends.”
Graham is optimistic that he’s fully recovered.
“The knee has been holding up pretty good,” Graham said. “Just like dealing with anything else coming off injury, coming off a little bump and bruise, dealing with some soreness. I’m out here every day putting in the work and dealing with the guys. You know just continuing to build days.”
