Falcons running back Michael Ford ran a play outside to the left side of the field Tuesday.
Allen Bradford, from the weakside linebacker position, read the play, sifted his way through traffic and met the speedy Ford at the corner for a would-be tackle.
In the modern NFL training-camp era, defenders just get to “thud” and move on. To-the-ground tackling isn’t practiced any more. Bradford’s play was a big “thud.”
A converted running back, Bradford has been zipping around the field and making plays since the start of training camp.
With Ford’s speed, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds at the combine, he’s supposed to take the edge and dart up field.
It was just another solid practice play by Bradford, the first player signed after Dan Quinn became the head coach. Bradford has been breaking up passes, getting interceptions and generally causing havoc.
Bradford, 5-foot-11 and 235 pounds, looks like a natural on defense, but he’s a converted running back, who carried the ball at USC, sometimes known as Tailback U.
“It was a heck of a transition,” Bradford said. “I got drafted by Tampa Bay as a running back (in 2011).”
At USC, Bradford played in 52 games and rushed for 1,585 yards on 267 carries and scored 16 touchdowns for the Trojans.
He averaged 7.2 yards per carry in 2010, which ranked second in the nation, and he was USC’s second leading rusher in 2009, earning All-Pac-10 honorable mention.
“It was good,” Bradford said. “I was in the room with Joe McKnight and Stafon (Johnson). It was great talking with Lendale (White) and Reggie (Bush), just being a part of that tradition was magnificent.”
After Tampa Bay released Bradford, he was signed to Seattle’s practice squad by Pete Carroll, who recruited him to USC, and that’s where the transformation to linebacker started.
Coming out of Colton (Calif.) High, Bradford was a Parade All-American as a linebacker/running back. He rushed for more than 1,800 yards and had more than 150 tackles as a senior. Carroll, who signed him as a safety, talked with Bradford about going back to linebacker on his first day with the Seahawks.
“I played weakside, but in high school you do everything,” Bradford said. “I was just thankful that coach Carroll allowed me to make that transition.”
He was on Seattle’s practice squad before playing in one game in 2012. In 2013, he played in nine games while with the New York Giants and one with Seattle. Last season, with Cleveland and Seattle, he played in one game for the Seahawks.
“At this point, the conversion has happened,” Quinn said. “It’s been long enough where he’s played linebacker. I think the thing that still jumps out is the speed that he has.”
Quinn wasn’t stunned when Bradford chased down Ford, a former LSU running back who was signed to provide some depth.
“That’s the stuff that we love about him,” Quinn said. “We are still trying to get him consistent where it’s every play-in and play-out at linebacker. You definitely feel his speed on defense, but on special teams as well.”
Others players on the defense have noted the play of Bradford.
“Every day you see that he has some amazing breaks on the football where he’s able to knock it out or is close to getting an interception,” linebacker O’Brien Schofield said. “His athletic ability at that position is very important.”
Bradford appears to be a lock to make the final roster and at least contribute on special teams. With his speed, Quinn may find a way to use him in the nickel defense covering running backs in pass coverage.
“I’ve kind of had the best of both worlds,” Bradford said. “In college, I got to play running back. Now in the pros, I’m playing linebacker.”
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