FLOWERY BRANCH — While much of the focus, understandably, has been on quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and outside linebacker Bralen Trice, who was lost for the season to injury, the rest of the Falcons’ rookie class also made its NFL debut Friday at the Dolphins.
The rest of the group, led by defensive linemen Ruke Orhorhoro and Brandon Dorlus, fared well and are preparing to face the Ravens (0-1) at noon Saturday in Baltimore.
Orhorhoro, who was taken in the second round (35th overall) out of Clemson, said that things felt surreal after facing the Dolphins and is looking forward to the regular season.
“For me, it’s about learning our routine because it’s my first time going through the game routine here,” Orhorhoro said. “So, learning what routine works best for me during the game, watching tape and going back to square one so that I know what I need to do better and sharpen going forward.”
The defensive lineman said his biggest adjustment from college to the NFL is the speed of the game.
“It’s all faster right now,” Orhorhoro said. “But over time, it’s going to slow down, just like when I was coming in as a freshman in college, it was very fast to me. But as I progress in practice more, my craft will slow down from there.”
Orhorhoro recorded two tackles and a quarterback hit against the Dolphins. He played 29 defensive snaps (43%) and four special-teams snaps (12%).
Orhorhoro earned all-ACC honors last season and totaled 97 tackles and 12 sacks in college. After seeing his number and name on the jersey, Orhorhoro said he feels that he made his parents proud after the first game, which made him happy.
He’s looking forward to facing the Ravens.
“Just trying to learn from the mistakes I’ve made and trust in my coach and my preparation,” Orhorhoro said. “I just want to go out there and play free.”
Dorlus, who was taken in the fourth round (109th overall) out of Oregon, finished his 52-game college career with 108 tackles and 14 pass breakups. The rookie said he looks to prove doubters wrong in that he can indeed play the run.
“Everybody talks about me being just a pass rusher,” Dorlus said. “I don’t want to be just a third-down guy. I want to show people that I can stop the run, too.”
Dorlus made a tackle against the Dolphins. He played 23 offensive snaps (34%) and two special-teams snaps (6%).
Similar to Orhorhoro, Dorlus said that he plans to trust himself more going forward in games after working the finer points of playing in the trenches throughout the week in practice.
“I want to trust my technique and have confidence in myself to make plays,” Dorlus said. “I was very disappointed with myself last week, as I was seeing me do a lot of things that I’d never do in games before.”
A third rookie who had a big impact Friday was inside linebacker JD Bertrand, who was selected in the fifth round (143rd overall) out of Notre Dame.
Bertrand started and recorded four tackles.
He led the Fighting Irish with 76 tackles last season and 267 tackles over his college career, when he was a three-year starter and two-time captain.
“I think I was able to get to the ball quickly, and I think it does help to obviously play them (Dolphins) in practice (as they did twice last week),” Bertrand said. “I think it’s a matter of who the quarterback is, but I think overall I did a good job.”
Bertrand said making reads in the game was key.
“When you go against a different team like Miami, they present different looks and different kind of presentations that you don’t always see against your own offense,” Bertrand said. “And so, it’s a good learning opportunity for me to take the Miami film and figure out what was happening.”
Bertrand played 40 defensive snaps (59%) and 19 special-teams snaps (58%). With the Falcons expected to not play linebackers Kaden Elliss, Troy Andersen and Nate Landman again, Bertrand is expecting to see action against the Ravens.
“You get your full week of prepping and go through your routine of how you’re going to watch film on them,” Bertrand said. “Though you only have one (exhibition) game of film to watch them, you can watch some games from last year to kind of get an idea of who they are and what they do. But yeah, I’m really excited to make that jump from the first game to the second game.”
Running back Jase McClellan, who was taken in the sixth round (186th overall), wide receiver Casey Washington (sixth round, 187th) and defensive lineman Zion Logue (sixth round, 197th) also saw their first NFL action against the Dolphins.
McClellan had nine rushes for 30 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards while playing 26 offensive snaps (37%).
Washington caught three passes for 27 yards over 40 offensive snaps (56%).
Logue played 22 defensive snaps (32%) and made a tackle.
