Falcons Linebacker Rotation Remains in Flux After Divine Deablo Injury

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons have had several questions in their linebacker corps come about after an injury to Divine Deablo. The standout defender was a primary reason the Falcons had turned their defensive unit into one of the top-performing defenses in football.

Since he fractured his forearm against San Francisco, the Falcons have utilized a committee approach to replace him.

Against Miami, that ended up being a lot of JD Bertrand. He was on the field for 68 of the Falcons’ 69 defensive snaps. The second-year linebacker had nine tackles, but largely struggled with coverage and getting to his spots in that game.

“It wasn't good enough from an overall standpoint,” Raheem Morris said after Week 8. “He was able to get out there and do a little bit of with Ronnie Harrison and get a chance to get him out there a little bit next to him in that three-linebacker defense a little bit. We'll be able to do a little bit more of that and try to get him in some of those space areas and do some of those things for JD as well.”

In Week 9, that turned into a lot more Harrison. The converted safety took 41 snaps (68%) against the Patriots after taking 15 (22%) against the Dolphins, while Bertrand’s snaps dropped to 30 (44%).

Morris explained how the situation evolved on Sunday.

“We planned it with the three-headed monster going out there, had a little bit of dime, had a little bit of Harrison a couple of weeks ago. Had a little bit of JD, I think it favored out a little bit differently because of how the basis of the game was played. Yesterday worked out more even with JD and Harrison getting more reps, and he's trending in the direction of earning more rights on the field and a lot of credit to, first of all, Ronnie, coming here in training camp, being on the practice squad, Divine goes down, and to put himself in that position, it's hard to do, and he's thriving and playing well and doing some good things.

“Obviously, JD's doing some good things, but obviously, you have to do better. You have to do better in your opportunities and the situations that you get. So, we're always going to go with the better players or the people that give us the best chance to win, and right now, it's looking that way. Obviously, we’ve got to go through the whole process of the game plan, the week, and what it looks like. But, Ronnie's certainly earning more snaps every single week.”

With the availability of Troy Andersen still in question and Josh Woods not being a part of the snap share, this pair will likely continue to be the backbone of the Falcons’ linebacker corps until Deablo can eventually make a return.

Sunday will provide them with a difficult test. The Indianapolis Colts feature the NFL’s best offense, and a viable Offensive Player of the Year candidate in running back Jonathan Taylor.

Whether Atlanta’s defense can slow down the Colts’ dynamic offense will likely depend on how fast its reshuffled linebacker corps can adapt.