The Falcons are basically holding open tryouts in order to find a replacement for Jalen Collins, who was slated to at least be the fourth cornerback and possibly the third.
But Collins was suspended for 10 games and the Falcons must find out who can play.
Akeem King (29 defensive snaps, four on special teams against the Steelers), C.J. Goodwin (20-9), Deji Olatoye (17-8), Blidi Wreh-Wilson (21-2) and Janor Jones (29-4) are the top candidates.
“We played some man to man,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “Wanted to see these guys stand up and play. I was encouraged by a lot of the work by the corners so far.”
King, who played safety in college, had an interception against the Steelers. Wreh-Wilson had a couple of nice plays, while Olatoye had a pass interference and he lined up in the neutral zone.
“Those are guys that we are really trying to put out there and feature,” Quinn said. We’ve got more work to do to find out. We are gaining that information as we are going.”
The Falcons are sent with Desmond Trufant (three snaps), Robert Alford (six snaps) and Brian Poole (two snaps) at the top three spots.
“All would play on special teams,” Quinn said.“Corner at the fourth and fifth spot you really have to have an impact on teams as well.”
Collins played 12 snaps against the Steelers, but did not play on special teams.
After the secondary was torched and gave up a 99-yard touchdown pass against Miami, Quinn said they had a stronger effort against the Steelers.
“Arrow is up from last week to this week,” Quinn said.
The coaching staff knows that players are going to make mistakes.
“If there are mistakes, are they corrected or are they repeated,” Quinn said. “If we fix some of the problems and they stay corrected, you know that player is getting the information and can make adjustments. If they miss it and continue to miss it, that’s a red flag and that’s a concern for us.”
About the Author
