Falcons second-year cornerback Desmond Trufant, the fourth-rated cornerback in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, will have a huge assignment against the Browns on Sunday.
Trufant will be on the hot seat, as he should be the primary defender on Cleveland All-Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon, who’s returning from a 10-game drug suspension.
The Falcons have matched Trufant against Carolina’s Kelvin Benjamin last week and Baltimore’s Steve Smith on Oct. 19. Gordon is set to make his 2014 debut.
“He’s a very explosive player,” Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said. “He’s one of the top receivers in the league without question. Big. Strong. Fast. He’s a very commanding player at the position.”
With Robert Alford out with a fractured hand, it’s reasonable to conclude that Trufant will be mainly responsible for Gordon, who played only 14 games last season, but led the league with 1,646 total yards and 117.6 per game. Gordon also had nine touchdown receptions, with six scores for 37 yards or longer.
“Josh is Josh,” Cleveland quarterback Brian Hoyer said. “We all saw what he was capable of doing last year. Obviously, he hasn’t played or practiced in 10 weeks. We are trying to bring him along at the right pace. But he’s Josh Gordon.”
Because of the speed of Cleveland’s receiving corps, the Falcons may have to play a lot of zone coverages.
“The difficulty this week is that there is (no video) to watch on Gordon,” Nolan said. “When you do that you’re trying to give a player an opportunity to study someone and prepare for the game a little more isolated and more intense on somebody.”
Gordon will play his first game in the Browns’ new offensive scheme under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
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