Falcons Training Camp 3 To Watch: Pass Rushers
"Get to the quarterback."
For years, those words have been echoed inside the walls of the Atlanta Falcons headquarters, and yet the on-field results simply haven't followed. The Falcons haven't ranked outside of the bottom-10 in sacks since 2017, including two finishes of 31st or worst in the last three seasons.
The team reached a new low last season, finishing last in the league in sacks with just 18. The next lowest team - the Philadelphia Eagles - had 29.
Rather than bringing back the same cast of characters and hoping for better results, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot went to work.
The final product included the loss of defensive linemen Dante Fowler Jr., Steven Means and John Cominsky, but the additions - and perceived upgrades - of free agent Lorenzo Carter and draft picks Arnold Ebiketie and DeAngelo Malone.
Now hoping to rejuvenate the pass rush with a group full of new faces, the Falcons will be keeping a keen eye on the progress of this unit throughout the season. Here are three to watch during training camp, the preseason and beyond.
Arnold Ebiketie
Atlanta's first of two second-round picks, the 6-2, 250-pound Ebiketie enters his rookie season with immense expectations. After posting 17 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks in his final season at Penn State, the 23-year-old is viewed as the Falcons' best chance at developing an elite pass rusher.
Ebiketie has excellent proportional length with over 34-inch arms, creating an intriguing frame in regard to natural leverage. Off the edge, he's an athletic, high-effort player whose sheer competitiveness caught the Falcons' eye long before his breakout 2021 season.
As Ebiketie enters his first training camp, he's expected to be in competition for a starting job at outside linebacker. Considering his impact against both the run and pass in Happy Valley, having a three-down impact as a rookie seems possible.
Last season, Falcons coaches tended to give veterans the first opportunity with rookies being worked in as the season progressed. However, Ebiketie might simply be too talented and skilled for that to be the case this year.
With camp starting next week, look for Ebiketie to see snaps with the first-team defense, and monitor how he's holding up facing NFL offensive tackles, specifically Falcons staple blindside protector Jake Matthews. If Ebiketie holds his own, watch for him to be in strong consideration for a Week 1 start.
Adetokunbo Ogundeji
While Ebiketie has the buzz, Ogundeji might be the player Atlanta's staff is most excited about in its pass rush group. Outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino said last season that the team is preparing Ogundeji to be the "bell cow" moving forward, and recently stated that the second-year pro is primed to "take a major step forward."
Ogundeji arrived in Atlanta as a fifth-round pick but closed the book on his rookie season with numbers indicative of a player drafted much earlier. Starting 11 games and seeing action in all but one, the Notre Dame alum racked up 33 tackles, five tackles-for-loss, and one sack.
Now entering year two with 16 games of knowledge and a full offseason under his belt, Ogundeji has considerably higher expectations. Factoring in that most players take the biggest jump in performance throughout their career from year one to year two in the league, Ogundeji has all of the ingredients for a breakout campaign.
For him, keep an eye on where he is relative to the other outside linebackers, be it first or second team reps or with his hand in the dirt in a more traditional defensive end role. With pads going on at training camp and preseason games starting shortly thereafter, Ogundeji's first chance to prove he's taken the next step is quickly approaching, and he should be given an opportunity to seize the moment.
Lorenzo Carter
Perhaps the most under-appreciated member of Atlanta's free agent class is Carter, who signed a one-year deal after spending the last four seasons with the New York Giants. The 26-year-old capped off his final year with the team in style, recording all five of his sacks during the final four games.
Nothing speaks more to Atlanta's pass rush woes than this: Carter, who had zero sacks entering Week 14, would've led the Falcons in the category by season's end. The former Georgia Bulldog was a consistent contributor in New York, with three of his four seasons featuring sack totals between four and five; the one that didn't meet the cut, 2020, saw him appear in just five games due to a ruptured Achilles.
Now back in Georgia, the 2018 third-rounder seeks to elevate his game - and the Falcons' pass rush - to another level. If Carter is able to carry over his end-of-2021 form, Atlanta is looking at another Cordarrelle Patterson-esque free agent signing.
However, even if Carter remains the same player he was in New York, his numbers should prove to be more than respectable for a complementary asset in the Falcons' defense. While Ebiketie, Malone and Ogundeji are viewed as the team's future off the edge, Carter's stable presence still provides value considering Atlanta doesn't quite know what to expect from its young trio.
Yet, Carter's young in his own right, and if he shows his hot streak to close 2021 was simply a sign of things to come, he can more than play his way into the Falcons' long-term plans. While 2022 isn't a make-or-break year for Carter, it certainly is a fine example of a "prove it" deal, one that both he and the Falcons are hoping leads to a multi-year pairing moving forward.
