Amid a rash of rookie injuries around the NFL during OTAs, the Falcons elected to ease off the pedal on first-round pick Vic Beasley, the eighth overall pick in the draft.
Beasley, who is close to signing a five-year contract, was held out of most of the OTA noncontact practice Tuesday because of a strained shoulder, according to coach Dan Quinn.
The Falcons, who are in dire need of help with their pass rush, don’t want Beasley to get hurt in what essentially are tag drills in jerseys and shorts. They need him to be ready when the pads go on in training camp.
Jacksonville lost their top draft pick Dante Fowler and Denver lost rookie tight end Jeff Heuerman, a third-round pick, to major season-ending knee injuries. Both were freak injuries — Fowler was barely touched in a blocking drill and Heuerman was running downfield on a special-teams play when he made a simple cut.
Who could blame the Falcons for being a little extra cautious with Beasley?
While moving through the individual drills, Beasley appeared fine. When the action picked up during the 11-on-11 situational scrimmages, he was on the sideline.
He wasn’t too concerned about his injury. It is not known how or when he suffered the strained shoulder.
“It’s going good,” Beasley said. “I think coach Quinn has a good plan for this team and specifically for my position, the Leo, and this whole defense.”
Beasley has valued his time during the individual drills, which are led by Quinn.
“Rarely in life do you actually get an opportunity to have a head coach that works your position,” Beasley said. “It’s a blessing for me to have him, a guru, at the position. I’m just learning everything from him.”
Beasley is the team’s only unsigned rookie draft pick.
“I’m not worried about that,” Beasley said. “It’s all about football and being just the best that I can be. The contract should be done here pretty soon.”
The Falcons have high hopes for Beasley, who recorded 33 sacks in his career at Clemson.
“He’s got an opportunity to be real special,” Falcons defensive coordinator Richard Smith said. “He’s been limited a little bit just to individual drills.”
Beasley, who’s from Adairsville, has impressed his new coaches.
“I like his attitude, his quickness and his ability to rush the passer,” Smith said. “Overall, he’s competing for a position just like everybody else.”
Smith spent the past four years as the Denver Broncos’ linebackers coach. He saw the team draft Von Miller second overall in 2011. Miller had 11.5 sacks as a rookie and registered 49 sacks in his first four seasons.
After he was drafted, Beasley stated that he viewed himself as a double-digit sack player.
“He’s got great speed and quickness, very similar to Von Miller,” Smith said. “I’m not saying he’s Von Miller. He’s got to go out there and do that, but if you talk to Vic he’d tell you that (Miller is) one of the players that he’s watched over the years. But he does have that elite quickness very similar to what Von Miller had when he came out of college.”
Falcons defensive line coach Bryan Cox concurs with the notion that Beasley is a work-in-progress.
“You saw all of the stuff that he did in college,” Cox said. “A good first step, quickness and good closing speed. His strength is definitely in the pass-rush aspect of it. He’s coming a long.”
Cox wants to see what Beasley and some of the other players can do in pads.
“The biggest thing is that we have a smart class of young players,” Cox said. “You can’t tell who’s going to be what until you put the pads on. For me, that’s what separates the men from the boys. Really, right now we are in gym class.”
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