Falcons 'Feel Really Good' About Rookie Draft Class as Young Defenders Emerge
Through the season's first 11 weeks, the Atlanta Falcons' rookie class had largely performed as expected.
First-round running back Bijan Robinson led the offense in yards from scrimmage, while second-round left guard Matthew Bergeron had played every offensive snap.
But behind them, production lacked.
Third-round defensive end Zach Harrison hadn't yet recorded a sack, tackle for loss or quarterback hit.
Fourth-round cornerback Clark Phillips III had been inactive more times than not and saw defensive snaps just once, coming in Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Seventh-round safety DeMarcco Hellams, a preseason star, had begun working his way into the mix defensively but remained a rotational player.
Fellow seventh-round pick, offensive lineman Jovaughn Gwyn, had been inactive all but once and hadn't yet played a regular season snap.
Oh, how things have changed.
Atlanta Falcons defensive end Zach Harrison (96) takes down Indianapolis Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew (10) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
When the Falcons took the field for this past Sunday's 29-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, they did so with four rookie starters - Robinson, Bergeron, Phillips and Hellams.
Robinson led Atlanta in rushing (72 yards) and receiving (50 yards), with his 122 yards from scrimmage putting him just 86 yards away from William Andrews' rookie record for scrimmage yards.
Bergeron played all but one snap - his first missed snap this season - and helped the Falcons run for 177 yards while quarterback Taylor Heinicke was sacked just once.
Phillips played 94 percent of Atlanta's defensive snaps, putting a stranglehold on the starting corner spot over Jeff Okudah while allowing just two receptions for 24 yards.
Hellams made his third start in the last four games and has played all but eight snaps over the past two weeks. He had seven tackles and one tackle for loss against the Colts.
And while he didn't start, Harrison, who recorded his first sack the week before, enjoyed the most proficient game of his young career, logging two more sacks, a pair of quarterback hits, one tackle for loss and a pass deflection.
Gwyn was inactive, but Atlanta's rookie class was all over the field on both sides of the ball, marking another step forward in its rapid late-season ascent.
“That’s what you want,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Some of them, things get accelerated maybe by injury. You want to bring them along the right way ... Obviously, you feel great every year after your draft class, but year after year, the type of players we’ve been able to bring into here, you try to tweak that process.
“I feel really good about that class.”
Smith added the Falcons entered this season thinking they had strong depth and valued the development process of his rookies - but they were thrust into larger roles due to surrounding circumstances.
Take, for instance, Phillips and Harrison.
Phillips' first three opportunities arose due to injuries - replacing Dee Alford at nickel against Arizona, taking over for A.J. Terrell on the outside of Week 13 against the New York Jets and again the week after for Okudah.
Each time, Phillips thrived, allowing only four receptions for 28 yards on 16 targets in those three games ... and proved too good to leave off the field.
Harrison's consistently played around one-third of Atlanta's defensive snaps, give or take a handful, as a rookie - but has seen his role evolve from a run-first defender to a capable performer on passing downs.
As the Falcons' depth at defensive tackle has dwindled with Grady Jarrett suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 8 and David Onyemata missing multiple games with an ankle injury, Atlanta's had to re-work its defensive line personnel on third downs, and Harrison's benefitted.
“You’ve seen Zach and Clark play more lately,” Smith said. “Zach certainly is taking advantage of those opportunities. He’s doing a hell of a job.”
Harrison has recorded all three of his sacks and tackles for loss in the past two games, along with three of his four quarterback hits - the other came against the Jets, two contests after Atlanta's bye week.
The Falcons knew the 6-6, 272-pound Harrison was a project coming out of Ohio State, but they bet on his upside with hopes of helping him reach his previously untapped potential.
Falcons assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray said leading into last week's win over Indianapolis that Harrison has learned how to use his 36-inch arms to get off blocks and has now conquered stopping the run, the hardest task for young defensive linemen.
This realization has enabled Harrison to work towards rushing the passer, and his accomplishments the past two weeks reflect exactly how far he's grown.
“I think you can see leaps and bounds,” Gray said. “When you look at Zach, you can see him growing. You can see that he’s actually getting better.”
At the time, Gray noted the Falcons wanted to see Harrison get three or four sacks before the season ended, as it would only help his development. Harrison reached that mark the following game.
His development, like Phillips, has helped Atlanta's defense thrive since the bye week, as it's allowed just three total touchdowns.
Phillips' emergence has been more sudden than Harrison's, as he was a healthy scratch in six of Atlanta's first 11 games - but the 2022 PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Falcons training camp star just needed an opportunity, and he's taken off since his chance came.
In five games of defensive action, Phillips has allowed only nine receptions for 95 yards and no touchdowns on 23 targets, per Pro Football Reference.
With its offense struggling, Atlanta's defense has been forced to play at a high level - and largely has.
And during the season's closing stretch, with playoff hopes on the line, Phillips has played at such a level that Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has no choice but to keep rolling with him.
“His whole body of work has been very solid,” Nielsen said. “I'm excited about the future of this guy. He’s going to get better. He’ll learn from a couple of things. Then, you’ll see, he’ll take that off the tape, and he’ll continue to rise. He's done a pretty good job overall.”
Hellams has followed a similar arc, failing to play over a quarter of Atlanta's defensive snaps in a game until Week 12.
During the Falcons' bye week, Smith and Nielsen opted to play more three-safety packages, wanting to find a way to get Hellams on the field.
The former University of Alabama standout impressed in his first extended opportunity, making seven tackles against the New Orleans Saints. He's started three of the four games since.
Nielsen compared Hellams' rise to linebacker Nate Landman, who went undrafted in 2022, played only 22 defensive snaps in seven games as a rookie, entered this summer on the roster bubble and is now top-five among linebackers in Pro Bowl voting.
Both players simply kept working and learning defense, showing up time and again from OTAs to training camp and into the preseason.
Landman received his opportunity when starting linebacker Troy Andersen suffered a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 3 and has since starred.
Hellams, who led the Falcons with 18 tackles and two interceptions this preseason, didn't have a situation as direct, as he merely out-performed Jaylinn Hawkins, who the Falcons eventually waived, and Richie Grant, who's now the No. 3 safety.
And now, the 23-year-old is one of the best stories on Atlanta's much-improved defense.
“He’s got a great football mind,” Nielsen said. “He’s very aware, can anticipate things. His thing was being a rookie coming into a situation, learning the defense. He learned the defense and then just stayed patient but pushed himself to learn everything even though he’s a good mental-rep guy.
“He’s watching, he’s learning, and then all of a sudden, he got his opportunity and went out and made a play.”
The Falcons have allowed only 166 passing yards per game over the past four weeks, helped in part by Phillips and Hellams playing larger roles.
With those two joining Terrell, Alford, safety Jessie Bates III and cornerback Mike Hughes, Atlanta's secondary has a strong nucleus of talent currently set to return next season.
And this duo of Phillips and Hellams, which is contractually set to run for the next three years, appears to be just scratching the surface.
“I think those guys have done a good job in practice, and you can see them keep growing and growing and growing,” Gray said Dec. 20. “I thought DeMarcco did a fantastic job when he got his opportunity to go out there. He’s physical in the run game, which we like.
“Clark, he’s been playing really well the last couple of weeks.”
The Falcons entered this season with playoff aspirations but now find themselves as long shots, needing to win out while receiving help from several others.
As owner Arthur Blank recently said, the year hasn't played out as anybody in Atlanta expected - but in a sense, the same is true for this rookie class.
Robinson and Bergeron were expected to be starters, but there were questions beyond them.
Would Harrison be able to make an impact in his first season?
Is the 5-10, 183-pound Phillips big enough to play on the outside?
Can Hellams and Gwyn make the roster?
The answer to each has been yes - and leaves Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot feeling "really good" about their efforts last April and the process they've instilled within the organization.
