The questions about the Falcons’ secondary usually involve replacing departed safety Thomas DeCoud and figuring out who will be the fifth defensive back in the nickel package.
That’s because the assumption is that second-year cornerbacks Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford will build on their promising rookie seasons and team with veteran strong safety William Moore as reliable and effective players in the defensive backfield.
Trufant started all 16 games as a rookie and Alford played in all 16 games with four starts.
“They are still young, but definitely way ahead of where they were in their rookie year,” Falcons defensive backs coach Joe Danna said. “That’s kind of neat to see. They both played a ton of snaps last year. I think that’s really paying off for them.
“But what I would like about those two is that they are never satisfied. They are always trying to get better. They work extremely hard, which is great for the whole crew to see when you have two of your better players out there competing and working hard. We like that.”
The Falcons selected Trufant in the first round of the 2013 draft out of Washington and picked Alford in the second round out of Southeast Louisiana. They were bright spots for Atlanta’s dismal defense in 2013.
Trufant played 1,022 snaps last season, second to Moore on defense, and recorded two interceptions and 17 passes defended. Pro Football Focus rated him as the Falcons’ best defensive player and the seventh-best cornerback in the league.
Alford played 585 snaps in 2013 and had two interceptions and eight passes defended. His pass coverage slipped when he supplanted Asante Samuel in the starting lineup and opponents targeted him but he closed the season with a strong performance against Carolina and has potential to improve because of his speed and competitiveness.
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