From safety to kicker, the consequential combat for positional perches.
The Atlanta Falcons kick off training camp Thursday, with players arriving Wednesday. This is a time of anticipation for fans who have been waiting nearly eight months to see any sort of real NFL action again, and an opportunity for many a would-be Falcon, would-be star, and maybe especially would-be practice squad player to prove themselves.
This Falcons team is settled in many key spots—every offensive starter, your top two cornerbacks, all-world starting safety, the invaluable *punter—*but much is up for grabs on defense and even on special teams. Here’s a look at eight of the battles ahead, in rough but not strictly descending order of importance.
Bates is, as I alluded to above, an all-world player. He has a case as one of the best handful of safeties in the NFL and is a gamechanger with his ability to create havoc all over the field, especially when quarterbacks dare to test the deep middle when he’s lurking there. For Bates to operate at the height of his powers, though, it helps if he’s got a capable safety working with him, and a scheme that puts him in a position to create maximum chaos.
Last year, Justin Simmons was an uneasy fit in the Jimmy Lake defense and had one of the most forgettable seasons of his distinguished career. In 2025, the Falcons are rolling out promising rookie ballhawk Xavier Watts, veteran (and familiar face for Raheem Morris) Jordan Fuller, and excellent special teamer and would-be starter DeMarcco Hellams. Fuller and Watts are likely at the front of the line in this competition, with Hellams’ return from injury and special teams utility relegating him to a backup role, but this feels like an open battle even if the Falcons would likely love it if Watts won out.
Regardless of who wins, the Falcons need better safety play next to Bates to ensure he can be the game-changing talent he truly is on a consistent basis.
Dee Alford felt like a potential long-term solution for the Falcons at nickel heading into last year, but a fairly disastrous year in Lake’s defense featuring many missed tackles and errors means he’s just in the mix for this job in 2025. The Falcons drafted ballhawk Billy Bowman—you’re sensing a theme here—and ported him over from safety for this competition, and everyone from former UDFA Natrone Brooks to Clark Phillips to current UDFA Cobee Bryant will get some sort of crack at this.
Ultimately, it’ll come down to whether Alford looks like he’s a strong bounceback candidate under a new defensive coordinator or Bowman is impressive, but the Falcons need considerable improvement from the position regardless.
If you were to compile a shortlist of reasons the Falcons lost their grasp on a playoff spot last year, you’d throw in Kirk Cousins declining suddenly, Raheem Morris and his mysterious time management, Jimmy Lake’s defense consistently struggling until Morris got...