Who Replaces Injured Falcons DB Isaiah Oliver? Rookies?

The Atlanta Falcons lost cornerback Isaiah Oliver to a season-ending knee injury on Sunday against the Washington Football Team.

Bad news. But …

His absence could open the door for a pair of rookies to attempt to fill his sizable shoes.

A punching bag for the first three years of his career in Atlanta, Oliver had found a home at nickleback in new defensive coordinator Dean Pees' scheme. He was playing the best football of his career.

"It's unfortunate. I can't say enough good things about him as a pro, as a teammate," said head coach Arthur Smith. "One of the guys when I got here he really bought in, just having a good year; its unfortunate."

"That's the kind of crappy part about this game. We all know the risk, but it's still really unfortunate. He won't be around the rest of season. Other guys got to step up, but there's a lot of ways to attack it."

"We can have multiple guys step up there play different roles. So we feel good about the guys we got here, and like I said, they're going to kick that ball off at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, breakfast at Tottenham, and we'll be ready to roll."

Two ways to attack it could be rookies Avery Williams and Richie Grant, a cornerback and safety, respectively.

Williams filled in for Oliver on Sunday against Washington. He was a fifth-round draft pick in April out of Boise State.

"Avery’s done a good job" said Smith. "Certainly, like all of us, there are play calls I want back, there are certain plays I'm sure he wants back, but he's a rookie. He’s very smart and got a lot of football instincts, and he stepped up."

"He stepped up at the end of the Giants game when Isaiah had cramps. Then he obviously stepped up last week. Like I said there's room for improvement for all of us, but we've got confidence in him, or whatever way, other direction we decide to go."

Second-round pick Richie Grant has been eased into the action more slowly behind two veterans in Duron Harmon and Erik Harris, but he could be thrown into the fire against the Jets on Sunday.

“All options are on the table," said Smith when asked specifically about Grant. "Every option is on the table, and we feel pretty good about the plan."

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson will put the secondary to the test. While he's a little loose with the ball as his league leading eight interceptions can attest, the rookie has tremendous arm talent and the ability to improvise on the run.

The Falcons secondary will need to be disciplined and focused when Wilson extends plays. Whether that's Williams, Grant or another player, as Smith said … all options are on the table.