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Falcons Rookie Richie Grant: Prepare For A Surprise

The former UCF safety should play right away in the Falcons' secondary.

The latest rookie to charge on to the Atlanta defense might not be well known across the league but we have a feeling it won't be long until people start paying some attention.

After kicking off their NFL Draft with a strong Round 1 selection in Kyle Pitts, the team made a selection in Round 2 with hard-hitting safety Richie Grant out of UCF.

Grant shot up draft boards after a very strong showing at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, ultimately landing with the Falcons with the 40th overall pick.

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Grant got playing time from the moment he stepped on campus as a freshman but mostly came off the bench in UCF's controversial National Championship season.

By the time he was a sophomore, Grant was getting more looks and established himself as the best player on UCF's defense, recording six interceptions and 106 tackles as he led his defense to the Fiesta Bowl against Joe Burrow's LSU Tigers.

While Grant never surpassed his high bar he set for himself in 2018, he still put up consistent numbers in 2019 and 2020.

It seemed as if every big play UCF made on defense, Grant had a hand in the result. 

In 2020, one of Grant's best games came against Cincinnati, who was a Top-10 ranked team at the time.

Grant has a lot of versatility as a safety. He can zoom into the backfield and blow up run plays, he can guard tight ends and slot receivers in the middle to turn potential big plays into small or medium plays and he has the potential to run deep with receivers that can take the top off the defense.

We think Grant's role in the NFL will likely stay closer to the front seven than the back four as his physicality is incredibly daunting already without having stepped foot on an NFL field yet. If Deion Jones finds himself sidelined with an injury, there's a chance Grant gets a look at Jones's spot in the defense.

The Falcons had a gaping hole to fill at the safety position with Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen out of Atlanta, so there's a lane for Grant to play a ton of snaps right away. 

If you add talent and opportunity together, then Grant has the best possible chance to be the breakout rookie on this team.

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