Falcons coach Dan Quinn has been pleased with the work of safety J.J. Wilcox, who’s been lining up at strong safety for Keanu Neal (knee) this offseason.
Neal returned to practice by the end of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and will get some work during the mandatory minicamp, which starts today and runs through Thursday.
Wilcox, who played at Georgia Southern, was selected in the third round (80th overall) of the 2013 draft by the Dallas Cowboys.
He played with the Colts and the Jets last season.
Wilcox has played in 77 NFL games and made 39 starts.
He played for the Cowboys from 2013-16. He was with the Steelers in 2017.
Wide receiver Julio Jones, middle linebacker Deion Jones will attend, but will not work out because they are resting/rehabbing foot injuries. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and defensive end Vic Beasley will also be on hand. They did not participate in the offseason program.
Cornerback Desmond Trufant has been excused for personal reasons and tight end Austin Hooper (ankle) will be held out.
One player making a bid to crack the revamped offensive line roster is second-year tackle Matt Gono.
“Gono has been somebody that’s had a good offseason,” Quinn told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’ve played him at two spots, guard and tackle. Last year he wasn’t ready for that and now he is.”
The offensive line group will be closely watched.
“That group has very good competitiveness to it,” Quinn said. “I like the size. I like their movement. I’m hopeful that we’ve recaptured the essence of what we are looking for in that position.”
Here’s a look the depth chart:
Offense
WR 11 Julio Jones, 14, Justin Hardy, 83 Russell Gage, 13 Christian Blake, 16 Shawn Bane
LT 70 Jake Matthews, 73 Matt Gono, 75 John Wetzel, 69 Lanard Bonner, 65 Jaelin Robinson
LG 77 James Carpenter, 60 Adam Gettis, 73 Matt Gono
C 51 Alex Mack, 71 Wes Schweitzer 61 Chandler Miller
RG 68 Jamon Brown, 63 Chris Lindstrom, 64 Sean Harlow
RT 74 Ty Sambrailo, 76 Kaleb McGary, 67 Devon Johnson
TE 81 Austin Hooper, 88 Luke Stocker, 82 Logan Paulsen, 85 Eric Saubert, 87 Jaeden Graham, 89 Alex Gray
WR 12 Mohamed Sanu, 18 Calvin Ridley, 15 Devin Gray, 19 Kahlil Lewis, 7 C.J. Worton, 17 Olamide Zaccheaus
QB 2 Matt Ryan, 8 Matt Schaub, 6 Kurt Benkert
RB 24 Devonta Freeman, 25 Ito Smith, 23 Brian Hill, 32 Qadree Ollison, 38 Kenjon Barner, 30 Tony Brooks-James, 43 Marcus Green
FB 30 Ricky Ortiz, 88 Luke Stocker, 87 Jaeden Graham
Defense
DE 44 Vic Beasley Jr., 91 Chris Odom
DT 95 Jack Crawford, 96 Tyeler Davison, 94 Deadrin Senat, 50 John Cominsky, 77 Ra'Shede Hageman, 93 Michael Bennett
DT 97 Grady Jarrett, 79 Jacob Tuioti-Mariner, 92 Justin Zimmer
DE 98 Takk McKinley, 99 Adrian Clayborn, 50 John Cominsky
WLB 54 Foyesade Oluokun, 42 Duke Riley, 52 Yurik Bethune
MLB 45 Deion Jones, 55 Bruce Carter, 49 Tre Crawford, 46 Del'Shawn Phillips
SLB 59 De'Vondre Campbell, 36 Kemal Ishmael, 53 Jermaine Grace, 48 Durrant Miles
CB 26 Isaiah Oliver, 33 Blidi Wreh-Wilson, 23 Jayson Stanley
NCB 27 Damontae Kazee, 28 Jordan Miller
CB 21 Desmond Trufant, 39 Taveze Calhoun, 20 Kendall Sheffield, 32 Rashard Causey
FS 37 Ricardo Allen, 41 Sharrod Neasman, 34 Chris Cooper, 35 Jason Thompson, 43 Parker Baldwin
SS 22 Keanu Neal, 37 J.J. Wilcox, 40 Ryan Neal
Specialists
K 4 Giorgio Tavecchio
KO 5 Matt Bosher
P 5 Matt Bosher
KR 38 Kenjon Barner, 18 Calvin Ridley
PR 14 Justin Hardy, 43 Marcus Green, 38 Kenjon Barner
LS 47 Josh Harris, 48 Kyle Vasey
H 5 Matt Bosher
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