FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The newest crop of Atlanta Falcons rookies reported to the facility in Flowery Branch Thursday for practice Friday. Friday's practice is the only day the players will take the field, as Saturday is a scheduled conditioning and lifting session, according to head coach Raheem Morris.
Over 40 players reported for the Falcons rookie minicamp this week. That list included drafted rookies — like the Falcons' first-round picks, Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. —as well as undrafted free agents — like cornerback Cobee Bryant and wide receiver Nick Nash — and tryout players, too. You can see the full list of participants from Will McFadden here.
Practice was only shorts and helmets, with more focus on individual reps and 7-on-7 work. Still, that was the point.
"Pretty excited to get these guys out there, move around a little bit," Morris said. "The expectations of it all is just to get the guys acclimated to how we do things, get these guys acclimated to the lift, so, next week when they are with the vets they won't slow them down when they are with their racks. But will get these guys going on the grass and to feel the tempo of how we run practice."
Though the flashiness of the practice is seeing the draft rookies in Falcons gear for the first time, this period is a big one for further roster building, specifically for the tryout players.
"The tryout guys are the guys where I really have my eyes focused at," Morris explained. "To see if there is anybody who catches your eye from the people that you don't know. Jalon Walker? I don't have to go look at him in this (period). It's about catching him up to speed along with our guys so he is ready to go and give our performance team a chance to put their hands on him. ... But you really want to see the tryout guys, see how they move, how they compare. Being able to get your group of people to watch those groups — whether its scouts on Terry's (Fontenot) side, or coaches on our side — to find out if there is anybody you want to add or acquire to this football team. You're really locked in and focused on those guys."
With all of that being said, let's dive into some quick notes on the Falcons lone practice day of rookie minicamp.
Notes and observations
The most famous of the undrafted: Arguably one of the most talked about undrafted free agents of this draft cycle was cornerback Cobee Bryant out of Kansas. So famous, in fact, Morris joked even his kids know who he is.
A back-to-back First Team All-Big 12 honoree the last two seasons, Bryant racked up eight interceptions and 69 tackles through 24 starts at outside corner for the Jayhawks. Despite going undrafted two weeks ago, the Falcons have been hot on Bryant's trail well before then, using one of their top-30 visits during the pre-draft process to get Bryant in the building. Morris said that time was very valuable, and helped solidify his own conviction on Bryant. By the time the Falcons actually got him on their official list of UDFAs a couple days after the draft's conclusion, Morris was pumped.
"That was something that was really exciting for me because I had a real clear vision for him," Morris said, "and it was something I was able to speak to, in a clear fashion, because I had watched his tape, had been around him and I knew what he was capable of."
NFL Network's Lance Zierlein wrote during the pre-draft process that Bryant was a "thin but highly competitive cornerback with plenty of ball production and penalties to sift through. First and foremost, Bryant wants the football and does what he can to find it." All of those things showed up in the 7-on-7 period of Friday's rookie practice. Bryant's frame may be on the lighter side, but his length is closer to where you'd want it. That's not to mention he's not afraid to bump and run with a receiver. You could absolutely see the physicality being reined in with Bryant as he stayed in a receiver's hip pocket through more live-looking reps. He is someone who may be a little undersized, but he may have other attributes by way of toughness that could bring value to this Falcons backfield. I could definitely see him fighting for a roster spot come August.
As advertised: That was James Pearce Jr.
The Falcons No. 26 overall pick seemed to tower over the rest of the field at times. He — along with Jalon Walker — spent a vast majority of Friday's practice working on pass rush moves together and with the tackling dummies and sled. This meant you never really got to see them go full-out, which is typical for defenders in the offseason and pre-season, too. Still, the juice of which draft analysts attributed to Pearce was evident. Even in his media availability after practice.
Pearce was asked what his go-to pass rush move on third-and-long was. He smiled slightly.
"I set up everything off speed," Pearce said simply. "I'm going to win, though. For sure."
Music to Falcons' fans ears.
JWalk doing what the Falcons said he would: The Falcons said from the moment they drafted Jalon Walker at No. 15 overall that they would start him out at edge rusher, give him a home there. The plan is that he will eventually work back to what he was in college, which was a more hybrid linebacker role. It's important to the Falcons' coaches that they don't give him that big of a role in the playbook too soon, especially with Kaden Elliss already on the roster.
So, it came as no surprise that Walker was working with the edge rushers all practice long. The Falcons never inserted him into any 7-on-7 looks with the inside linebackers or defensive backs. Again, this tracks with the Falcons' plan and early vision for Walker.
A couple big bodies trying out: Two players I am looking forward to potentially seeing more of were the defensive tackle tryout players of Kevin Hester Jr. (6-foot-4, 310 pounds) and Marlon Taylor (6-foot-2, 317 pounds). There was no love lost in the size of the two, which is something I have felt the Falcons could potentially use more of on the roster in 2025, specifically anchoring the defensive tackle position.
Both Hester and Taylor are local guys — Hester from Kennesaw and Taylor from Brunswick. Neither had college careers that were particularly flashy, but they could help solidify depth at the position if given the chance. (I am under the belief you can never have too many able bodies at the line of scrimmage). Because of the nature of offseason work, I don't think I will have much to report on these guys until the pads come on in the dog days of training camp. But they're — as well as body types like them — are on my radar.
Two UDFAs to keep an eye on: Like Bryant, some other UDFAs I enjoyed watching Friday were wide receiver Nick Nash and tight end Joshua Simon.
I loved the touch Nash had in his catch, as well as his ability to track a ball through the air. He made a catch down the sideline in the 7-on-7 period, going up and over the nearest defender, that displayed a vertical and extension that was just sheer athleticism and instinct. You could see why he'd been so successful at the college level.
Simon — I just loved the look of, and felt like I could see him in a room that contains Kyle Pitts and Charlie Woerner. Standing at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Simon played so much bigger than that. His frame is strong and he had a natural feel for the ball in his hands. I thought he made difficult passes look easy.
I make note of these two, specifically, because we've been talking so much about the defense this offseason. Though things feel pretty set in stone offensively for this team, I do think added depth at receiver and tight end could be worthwhile. Nash and Simon have a good a chance as anyone to potentially make this 90-man roster, and, potentially, the practice squad.
This is something Morris himself expressed to the players attending rookie minicamp, too. When all players had arrived at the facility Thursday afternoon, Morris addressed them all, explaining 11% of the starters in the league are undrafted players. There is a good chunk of success stories to draw from as an undrafted player. And the Falcons are a team that feels they have a good crop of such players to pick from.
Watching Nash, but impressed by Polk: As previously mentioned, I spent a lot of time watching the pass catchers during Friday's practice (mainly because Pearce and Walker were on a different field that I could not venture to, but I digress). I may have been taking diligent notes on what I saw from Watts, but it was actually Makai Polk who I thought sparked the most during practice.
Polk is a receiver who is already on the Falcons roster (having signed a reserve/futures deal in January), but was participating in practice Friday. He was a free agent out of Mississippi State, where in his lone season with the Bulldogs, led the SEC with 105 receptions for 1,048 yards and nine touchdowns. Since joining the league in 2022, Polk has spent time with the Ravens and Giants. Most recently, though, Polk played for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League. It was there Polk shined, finishing the 2024 season with five 100-yard games in the last seven regular season games.
At 6-foot-3, 192 pounds, Polk's length and confidence was on full display Friday. He's the type of player who's presence I felt immediately, to the point of feeling confident that no matter where the ball was, Polk was going to come down with it. He made one of the best catches of the day, hauling in a 25-yard pass from Emory Jones down the heart of the field and surrounded by three defenders, going up and over one to make the grab.
Between Nash and Polk — as well as other veteran receivers who we will see later — I think the Falcons are actually in a very good spot when it comes to competition at the position.
Ramping up quickly: Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, I said a few times the Falcons needed to get multiple defensive starters out of the group. Between Walker, Pearce, Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr., I think they may have done exactly that. And that, Morris said Friday, is the expectation.
So much so I would say this was the quote of the day:
"Make no mistake about it," Morris said, "we are going to have some real intentionality about playing our rookies this season and getting those guys on the grass, see who can play some significant amount of football for us."
