Cox: Hageman needs to improve his play

Falcons defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman, who’s heading into his third season, need to improve his play in 2016.

“I’d like to see some improvement in him this season,” Falcons defensive line coach Bryan Cox told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think he’s done a good job this offseason of working to get his pad level lower and working on his ankle flexing and some of the things that can make him a better player.”

Hageman, a second-round pick in 2014 out of Minnesota, started 11 of 16 games in 2015. He played 419 defensive snaps (39.9 percent) and had 27 tackles, one sack, one passed defensed and two tackles for losses.

The Falcons had high hopes for Hageman, a 6-foot-6, 318 pounder.

“He’s still in the building,” Cox said. “He’s more alert in meetings. He’s trying to work his butt off. The good thing about it is that he’s one piece to the puzzle. We have a lot of guys that we are trying to play and fit and see how this whole thing shakes down, but I think it’s going to be a really important year for him.”

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