The Falcoholic
Atlanta Falcons rookie cornerback Cobee Bryant had a rough debut last Thursday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he has a prime bounce-back opportunity ahead of him versus the Arizona Cardinals. Should he achieve that, it could have significant ramifications for decision-makers at the top of the Falcons organization.
While last week’s win over Tampa Bay was not Bryant’s first action of the season, it was his most extensive action to date. He was forced to fill in for injured starting cornerback Mike Hughes, who has already been ruled out against the Cardinals.
Stepping into the role as a starter, Bryant was repeatedly targeted by Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield. According to PFF, Bryant allowed seven catches on nine targets for 134 yards, earning a 28.7 coverage and overall grade on 41 coverage snaps. However, my own charting of the game suggests that PFF was lowballing those numbers. Watching the film myself, Bryant allowed seven catches on 11 targets for 142 yards.
To put that in context, PFF has a coverage snaps-per-target metric that indicates how often a defender is targeted. Bryant’s 4 snaps per target is currently the lowest number of any cornerback that has played at least 50 coverage snaps this year. His fellow cornerbacks, Dee Alford and Mike Hughes, are not far behind him with 4.7 and 5.8 snaps per target. Alford ranks second among nickel cornerbacks and Hughes eighth among outside cornerbacks. All of this thanks to the presence of A.J. Terrell on one side of the field. Terrell is the fourth least targeted cornerback in the NFL, with 9.7 snaps per target.
Yet despite being picked on by Mayfield, it didn’t affect Bryant’s supreme confidence. I was told by The Athletic’s Josh Kendall on a recent episode of Locked On Falcons that Bryant was seen chirping after that game with Bucs fans. That bravado made Bryant an instant fan favorite despite being an undrafted free agent for the Falcons this past spring.
He joined the team with high expectations, as the premier player from the team’s vaunted undrafted class. However, injuries during training camp derailed his hopes of making the team’s 53-man roster, with him instead landing on the Falcons’ initial practice squad. However, fellow rookie nickel Billy Bowman’s season-ending injury cleared the way for Bryant to be permanently promoted to the roster.
With Hughes’ current injury, it clears a path for Bryant to see extended action. The Falcons have experienced a revolving door at cornerback this season, with all three starters in and out of the lineup due to nagging injuries, prompting Alford, Keith Taylor, Natrone Brooks, and now Bryant to see action. The team still has veteran C.J. Henderson on the practice squad as another option should Bryant not take advantage of his current opportunity.
But it makes plenty of sense for the Falcons to let Bryant sink or swim this week against the Cardinals. Arizona wideout Marvin...
