FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Bijan Robinson took a handoff from Tua Tagovailoa during one of the first-team periods of the Falcons' Monday afternoon practice.

He bounced to the right side, following his lead blockers. As he approached the line of scrimmage, though, Kendal Daniels came streaking through the line of blockers. He approached Robinson in the alley, right on top of him before slowing as Robinson kicked back up again.

Robinson broke through and sprinted downfield, the crowd reacting. But so, too, did Daniels, who passionately yelled to Robinson that the running back — had this been a live game — would have been down behind the line of scrimmage. Robinson, for his part, disagreed. But, per Daniels, Robinson started it first.

"It was OU and Texas," Daniels — who spent his final collegiate year at Oklahoma — quipped about one of the best rivalries in college football.

It was a moment that transpired in good fun, but also one that showed a fiery side of Daniels we've yet to see.

Robinson is one of the faces of not just the franchise, but all of the NFL. He's coming off a record-setting season. He just signed a major contract extension. Daniels didn't care.

"I'm smart enough not to hit Bijan," Daniels said as media members chuckled. But he's also smart enough not to let anyone — even Robinson — think they'd gotten away from him when the play was contested.

Daniels called Robinson a big brother to him. There's so much respect there, he said. Robinson has "taken care of" Daniels since he came into the league this spring. Still, this is football, and Daniels won't sit quietly by.

Neither will his fellow rookie inside linebacker, Harold Perkins Jr.

"Did you see Bijan chirping at Kendal?" a reporter asked Perkins post-practice.

"Oh no! I ain't seen that!" Perkins exclaimed. "I would have said something!"

Daniels and Perkins took the bulk of the first-team defensive reps side-by-side on Monday. Over the last week of practices, both rookies have gotten run with the 1s alongside Divine Deablo. Deablo, however, was not practicing Monday. He's working through an injury sustained in Saturday night's practice.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski assured it's nothing too serious with Deablo, but in his absence, it's a good opportunity for the rookies to get some run. And run they did.

They're quite the pair. Daniels, long and agile. Perkins, strong and speedy. They look natural together, and it's not hard to picture what they could become as individuals in this league — but maybe one day, as a duo.

That's how they see things, too.

"Since Day 1, since we got here, it's never been a competition between us," Perkins said. "We both came here together. We both have been working together. I know that if I do what I am supposed to be doing, and if he does what he's supposed to be doing, then, we good."

This was something Daniels himself had previously said, too, when Perkins crashed his press conference.

"Great person, great," Daniels said as Perkins himself looked on, listening to his teammate's every word. "He keeps me going. Tells me the plays when I mess up. He helps me out a lot."

Keep an eye on these two rookies. They're growing more confident, together and separately. And a world in which the Falcons rely on both of them this fall is not a world built in imagination.

Notes and observations from practice

A good day for MPJ: With the Falcons holding a heavy 7-on-7 period toward the start of practice, Michael Penix Jr. had the chance to get a lot of work in, and he had some good moments where he looked strong in the pocket.

He worked the middle of the field well, hitting Drake London twice as he cut across defenders about 15 yards out. He had nice touch on a little crossing route to Robinson in that same set. Then, he went to what he does best, which is push the ball deep down the sideline.

Penix dropped a long ball right into Kyle Pitt's waiting arms about 25 yards downfield and in a nice window down the right sideline. It was a solid play by Pitts, too, with A.J. Terrell with good position in coverage. A really nice throw-and-catch by the quarterback and tight end.

Roll call: As stated previously, Divine Deablo did not practice Monday. Neither did Jessie Bates III, as he continues to work through a lower back injury. Stefanski said they're going to start ramping Bates back a little more this week, but he did not have the pads on and continued to watch practice from the sideline.

Avieon Terrell did not participate much in practice Monday. He was seen leaving the field after individual drills. He returned with helmet in hand but didn't get in on the full-team periods.

Another rookie to keep in mind: Ethan Onianwa continues to build upon a few good practices last week. He rotated in with the first-team at various intervals during practice, but he split time with the 1s with Brandon Walton and Michael Jerrell, who took the bulk of first-team reps. That has changed, at least recently.

Onianwa took all of the first-team right tackle reps that I could see. Walton ran with the 2s, while Jerrell primarily worked with the 3s. Onianwa continues to look the part, strong with a solid base.

What the Falcons do at right tackle is going to be a story line all the way up to Week 1, seeing as long-time veteran Jawaan Taylor was just activated off the active/PUP list Monday. He joined practice for the first time this camp, but did not participate in team drills. The Falcons will ramp him up over the next couple weeks, and continue to evaluate what they're going to do at the tackle spot. That said, don't forget about Onianwa as the weeks go on. He has had a good camp since the pads came on.

"It's a beaut, Clark": Clark Phillips III had a couple flashy plays Monday. In the receiver vs. defensive back one-on-ones to start practice, Clark manned up against newly signed Kristian Wilkerson. Wilkerson sprinted to the back corner of the end zone as the ball was lofted up to him. With a few extra inches of height on Phillips, it seemed natural that he'd come down with the pass. Phillips, however, timed he move towards the ball perfectly, lifting his arms right as the ball seemed to graze Wilkerson's hands. It was a nice PBU in the end zone for Phillips.

A couple periods later in the 7-on-7 period, Phillips jumped in front of a pass by Penix intended for Antwane Wells Jr. He picked off the pass and ran the other direction. Phillips took advantage of a miscue by someone — who that someone could be (receiver or quarterback) is up for debate. Penix seemed to think Wells would get to the top of his route and track back to the ball. Wells seemed to think he'd stay put at the top. That split second was enough for Phillips to take advantage.

Defense makes a stand in situations: To wrap up practice, the Falcons went into a team period that focused on third- and fourth-down situations.

The first play of this period was a nice interception by Xavier Watts. The first-team defense was going against the second-team offense, and a pass delivered in traffic ended with Watts making the play.

Next up was the first-team offense with the second-team defense. Tagovailoa tried to push the ball downfield to Jahan Dotson but the ball fell incomplete, a little off course. Then, I gave the defense a sack on the next play. Really, I could have given a couple of guys the sack seeing as the pocket collapsed around Tagovailoa.

All-in-all it was a good period for the defense as they pinned their ears back in gotta-have-it situations.