Atlanta Falcons training camp is already sorting the roster into two clear buckets: the guys forcing their way into bigger roles, and the ones who are slipping fast.
With the pads on and the reps stacking up, this is no longer about one flashy day or one ugly practice. The early trends are starting to matter. And for Atlanta, a handful of players have clearly helped themselves while a few others have seen their standing take a hit.
The biggest buzz right now belongs to Harold Perkins Jr. The sixth-round rookie has been one of the most exciting players on the field, and the Falcons have used him in a way that says plenty about how they view him.
He’s been taking first-team reps at inside linebacker and is pushing Christian Harris for the LB2 job. Then, after Jalon Walker’s season-ending ACL tear, Atlanta began lining Perkins up off the edge too.
That versatility matters in a defense that suddenly needs someone who can rush the passer and play off the ball. Between Walker’s injury and Kaden Elliss’ departure, the Falcons are hunting for a Swiss-army-knife defender, and Perkins has spent the summer showing he can be that guy.
Mike Hughes has also made his case. There was plenty of chatter about Avieon Terrell eventually taking his job, but Hughes has held onto the starting outside corner spot throughout camp.
The Falcons’ offseason moves suggest they still see him as their CB2 opposite A.J. Terrell, and Hughes has backed that up with some strong coverage work.
He’s had good reps against Drake London in 1-on-1s and even drew praise from Falcons beat reporter Will McFadden for his strong start. Hughes was floated as a trade candidate earlier this offseason, but that talk seems to have cooled off.
After being picked on often last season, the 29-year-old has turned into a PBU machine, and a bounce-back year feels like the direction this is heading.
Jahan Dotson is another player making life easier for the Falcons. Zachariah Branch has produced the highlight moments, but Dotson has been the steadier force in the receiver room.
He’s moving toward a firm grip on the WR2 role behind Drake London and has been on the field often in 2-WR sets. Atlanta may have talked about an open competition, but Dotson’s outside skill set and deep-threat ability have made him the cleaner fit for that role, while the slot battle has played out more between Branch and Olamide Zacchecheus.
Dotson has also been making plays consistently, including a one-handed grab during Tuesday’s practice, and he’s hardly left the field. It looks like the former first-round pick is building the kind of redemption run he needed.
Sydney Brown rounds out the group of players rising fast. The former Philadelphia Eagle has gotten a real look in the Falcons’ competition at starting nickel corner, and he made one of the summer’s cleaner defensive plays when he shut down Zachariah Branch in Wednesday’s practice.
Branch has been tough for Falcons defenders to contain in 1-on-1s, but Brown stayed disciplined, kept leverage, and forced an incompletion, even if the throw itself wasn’t great. Atlanta traded a fourth-round pick swap to bring Brown in, and Jeff Ulbrich should have every reason to find a way to get him on the field, whether that ends up being at nickel or safety.
On the other side of the ledger, Channing Tindall appears to be fading out of the picture. Inside linebacker has been one of the most competitive spots on the roster, with Divine Deablo locked into one starting job and Christian Harris, Harold Perkins Jr., and Kendal Daniels battling for the other.
Tindall, the Georgia product, now looks like little more than a backup, and his roster spot may not be safe either. Even with Troy Andersen released, he seems to be on the wrong side of a crowded and unsettled linebacker rotation.
Cash Jones is also losing ground in the RB3 fight. Nate Carter, Cash Jones, and Tyler Goodson are all still in the mix, but Jones is starting from behind because he has the least NFL experience of the group.
Atlanta had experimented with converting him into a slot receiver during OTAs, but that idea was shelved once camp began. With Carter and Goodson both more natural runners, Jones looks more like a practice squad candidate than a real threat for a bigger role.
AJ Woods may be the clearest example of a player whose summer has gone off the rails. He opened camp getting first-team nickel reps, but that opportunity has faded as the weeks have gone on.
Woods has struggled in coverage throughout camp, especially in 1-on-1s, and he doesn’t seem to fit neatly into the cornerback mix. With the Terrell brothers, Hughes, Brown, the injured Billy Bowman Jr., and possibly one of C.J.
Henderson or Cobee Bryant still in the picture, Woods’ rough summer could end up costing him his spot altogether.
In Other News...
Falcons Suddenly Face A James Pearce Jr. Problem They Feared
James Pearce Jr. has spent most of camp working with the Falcons third team, a reminder that his role has already been in flux before the real questions around his status arrive. The first-round pick played in all 17 games last season, but Atlanta has been bracing for a much different kind of update as roster cutdowns approach, one that could force the team to rethink how it plans to open the year.
The uncertainty around Pearce now centers on discipline that has been hanging over camp, with the Falcons preparing for a suspension announcement before the roster deadline. For a team that drafted him to be part of its future up front, the timing could not be much worse, and the length of the absence would leave Atlanta sorting through a depth chart issue it hoped to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Penix Jr. Is Already Forcing A Tough Falcons Decision
Michael Penix Jr. is already at the center of one of the Falcons biggest offseason questions, and it has less to do with upside than availability. Atlanta is sorting through its quarterback options under a new coaching staff, while fans remain split on what Penix can become and how quickly he can be trusted to lead the offense. The comparisons to other first-round quarterbacks from the 2024 draft only sharpen the scrutiny, because the Falcons are not just weighing talent here - they are weighing timelines.
The health piece makes the decision even murkier, and it helps explain why the organization has been forced to keep its options open. Penixs performance has given Atlanta enough reason to believe in the long view, but the uncertainty around his readiness has created a real test for the teams planning and patience. For a franchise trying to settle its future under a fresh regime, the quarterback conversation is already becoming a referendum on how much risk it can afford to take. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Needed This Divine Deablo Injury Update More Than Ever
The Falcons had a scare at practice when linebacker Divine Deablo went down after an apparent ankle injury and had to stop scrimmaging. It was the kind of moment that can tighten a training camp sideline fast, especially for a defense that needs to keep building chemistry and getting a feel for how its new pieces fit together.
Kevin Stefanski later said Deablo was rolled up on, and the early concern eased once imaging and testing were done. Hell miss the next practice as a precaution, but the expectation is that this is not a long-term issue, which is about as good a result as Atlanta could have hoped for after the initial injury. [Read more 🡒]