The first day of mandatory minicamp has come and gone, and most of the roster was out there practicing. There were no noted absences and James Pearce Jr. is back with the team for the first time since he was arrested and charged in February (and the Falcons say they still haven’t heard from the league about a potential suspension), while a handful of players are not practicing or are practicing on a limited basis owing to injuries.
These three days can’t tell us a lot about roster battles and where
this team is headed, naturally, as training camp and preseason will be much more informative in that regard. Still, there are notes to be noted and items and to be itemized, so let’s get to it.
Michael Penix Jr. not ready for full team drills just yet, hopes to be cleared for training camp
We’re still on Penix watch. The third-year quarterback is recovering from offseason ACL surgery and has been participating, but is not yet cleared for 11-on-11 work. For his part, Penix believes that will happen by the start of training camp; Kevin Stefanski has not confirmed that timeline just yet.
Both Penix and the team stressed that his recovery is going well and he’s not enduring any setbacks or falling short of any expected milestones; this is just the reality of coming back from a significant injury like Penix’s. The fact that he’s throwing, moving around, and participating in other drills should be considered a reason for cautious optimism.
Still, to win this quarterback competition, Penix needs to be out there early in training camp with very few limitations, or Tua Tagovailoa will likely have too much of a lead on the quest for the starting job. The ideal outcome for this team remains Penix winning the starting job and excelling, given that he’s under contract for two seasons with a fifth-year option and is the younger, more high-upside player, but that’s far from a given at the moment. We’ll hope he’s ready to go, but likely won’t know until mid-to-late July for sure.
Rookies Kendal Daniels, Anterio Thompson still working through injuries alongside others
I had named Daniels as a player to watch in the competition for a starting job next to Divine Deablo, but injuries have been keeping him from getting out there and competing. At the moment, Christian Harris continues to stand out (per Will McFadden at AtlantaFalcons.com) and Harold Perkins Jr. is working his way into the group as well. With JD Bertrand also not practicing, Harris has a major leg up, and Daniels may not be able to catch up unless he’s really sharp in training camp.
Thompson has a better shot to grab some kind of significant early role given how heavily the Falcons rotate up front, but he too will have to work his way back. The rookie defensive lineman did not participate in OTAs and is not out there for minicamp, either, with only vague updates about his status.
Billy Bowman Jr. is still working his way back to full health and is not currently practicing, and McFadden notes that Xavier Watts, DeMarcco Hellams, DeAngelo Malone, and Troy Andersen are also not practicing. We haven’t heard of any long-term concerns with any of those players, but for Andersen that’s a very big deal given that this figures to be his last chance to stick with the Falcons.
Jawaan Taylor working his way back
The Falcons just added Wanya Morris to their roster after losing Storm Norton, but the presumptive starting right tackle is definitely Jawaan Taylor. The veteran is not practicing just yet, but Stefanski was upbeat about where he’s at.
Taylor has extensive starting experience and is a quality starting tackle if he can reel in some of his issues with penalties that have plagued him in recent years, so the Falcons obviously are not going to worry about him overmuch right now. If he’s still working his way back during training camp, Morris and Mike Jerrell (who is working as the starting right tackle in minicamp) will have a genuine shot to unseat him.
Bralen Trice is healthy!
We still have yet to see Trice in a regular season game, but he’s back out there and looking good in the early going. McFadden notes that fellow edge rusher Samson Ebukam called Trice “fluid,” and the third-year pass rusher was turning heads in OTAs.
If Trice is truly healthy and able to keep it up through the summer, he’ll definitely figure in to an EDGE group that could quietly be quite deep, and can make a real case for early down work given that he was a well-rounded player in college.
Punt returner competition is all receivers
The punt return rotation appears to be the same as it was during OTAs. The players involved on Tuesday were, in no particular order, Olamide Zaccheaus, Jahan Dotson, Zacchariah Branch, Dylan Drummond, Keelan Marion and Vinny Anthony II.
I’d still pick Branch to win this job, mostly because of his elusiveness and explosiveness in the open field, but the Falcons will give many players a chance. Zaccheaus and Dotson are his stiffest competition given that both will be on the Week 1 roster, while Drummond, Marion, and Anthony are all better bets to make the practice squad than stick on the roster as a punt returner. I don’t expect this to be among the summer’s most fierce competitions, but perhaps we’ll be surprised.
