FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons took to the field for their first practice of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and the action was relatively contained.
Head coach Raheem Morris and his staff have maintained that their approach during this time is as much mental as anything else, and one of the top priorities for the young players is teaching them how to practice in the NFL. The way they've gone about that acclimation has been different for each player, but Tuesday provided an opportunity to study each of the Falcons' draft picks closely.
Here's a detailed report on how each of Atlanta's five draft picks looked on Day 1 of mandatory minicamp.
Jalon Walker
Walker's reputation at the University of Georgia continues to bear out on the practice fields 45 miles down the road. He was the first in line for edge rusher drills, which took up the middle part of practice. To my eye, he never needed to be told what to do or repeat a rep, and the comfort he showed out there meshes with what Morris said about the No. 15 pick in April's draft earlier in the offseason.
"He knows how to practice at a very high level," Morris said. "He wants to get better and better every single day, and he seems like he does. He's an instant coach. He's like grits, man. You just tell him something, and he does it the first time every single time."
What really flashed on Tuesday, though, was Walker's ability to accelerate through his bend. We saw in college, especially against Texas, Walker's ability to convert outside speed to power back inside across the face of the tackle, but on Tuesday he looked really flexible coming around the arc. Keep in mind that this was just against practice dummies, but Walker's pass-rush chops are legit.
James Pearce Jr.
As has been the case since he arrived, Pearce is kind of on a unique plan out there on the field. He had a lengthy conversation with assistant head coach Jerry Gray and veteran pass rusher Leonard Floyd during a special teams period, which made me immediately think about to a comment Gray made earlier in the offseason.
"I just remember when I was with Tennessee and I was lucky enough to be on that staff in '99, we drafted a guy named Jevon Kearse," Gray said. "This guy was a rookie, and he doesn't know anything, but all of a sudden at the end of the year, you're going to the Super Bowl and he has 15 sacks.
"No one is going to know anything about our young guys because they are going to be scouting the old guys. So, the young guys got a better chance at pass rush."
Now, I don't include that to compare Pearce to Jevon Kearse, who had 36 sacks in his first three seasons, but rather to illustrate Gray has seen a lot of football. Having him and Floyd in Pearce's ear is a smart move, and one that will hopefully pay dividends this fall. Atlanta knows Pearce has the athleticism, so it's now investing in his mindset.
On the field, Pearce brought up the rear during individual drills but was directly behind Floyd. That felt like it was by design so he could watch how the veteran went through each rep. There were moments when Pearce didn't finish a rep as strongly as some others, but the physical tools are apparent.
Xavier Watts
While Watts was present during Tuesday's practice, he was difficult to spot out there on the field. Perhaps I completely overlooked Watts, but I couldn't spot him with the cornerbacks or with the safeties in the middle of the field.
After consulting with others, I've learned Watts was doing some of his own individual work off to the side. Nothing injury related but rather some specific skill-building for the rookie. It's also notable that he wasn't on the field for the 11-on-11 period when the other rookies were out there. Perhaps that could be taken as an early indicator of his standing on the depth chart.
Billy Bowman Jr.
If Watts flew under the radar, Bowman flashed early and often on Tuesday. He was second in line during cornerback drills, behind A.J. Terrell in line and opposite Dee Alford. Bowman, who was sporting a crop-top style jersey looks the part of a nickel player in the NFL; he is quick-twitch, under control and flies downhill once he fires forward.
He was a starter during the 11-on-11 period in the slot and was used on a dummy blitz at one point before the running with wide receiver Dylan Drummond down the hashes. Bowman stayed with the speedy receiver, and the dummy blitz is also worth logging away.
"He brings a certain type of leadership style of his own, and you can tell he is watching and he is learning and he is grasping from everybody, whether it be Clark [Phillips] or whether it be Jesse or whether it be anybody from his room or outside of his room," Morris said of Bowman. "You can just tell he has a certain mentality and he wants to get better."
Jack Nelson
At this time of year, it's incredibly difficult to discern anything about the offensive linemen. Nelson was out there during the 11-on-11 period and has been mixing in with the offensive line behind Storm Norton on the right side. One notable moment for the rookie lineman was when he drew a defender offsides early in the full-team session.
We will have a better idea of where Nelson falls in the offensive line mix once training camp gets underway.
One more to note: Joshua Simon
I didn't plan on adding this section, so don't take this as an indictment on any other rookies not mentioned. Simon was a player who jumped out a few times, though, especially during 11-on-11 work. Given that he's been a player who has reportedly impressed the team in a short time as an undrafted rookie, I felt it was worth mentioning him here.
Specifically, there was a player very early in the 11-on-11 period where he found space in the right flat as the outlet player before turning upfield for a nice gain. Very minor, but those are the types of moments you look for at this time of year.
