Who could stick around once final cuts are over this year?
The Atlanta Falcons are about to begin the evaluation process for its 2019 53-man roster. which inevitably leads to some fan favorite UDFAs being given notice.
Though, the practice squad gives the team an opportunity to hold on to ten potential prospects for the future. It’s hard to tell right now who exactly will stick around and for how long, since the practice squad can be an ever-changing rotation at times.
Who could stick around for the fall and maybe one day land a roster spot? We have our guess.
- QB Kurt Benkert
- WR Olamide Zaccheaus
- WR Kahlil Lewis
- T Devon Johnson
- DT Jacob Tuioti-Mariner
- OLB Durrant Miles
- DE Chris Odom
- S Parker Baldwin
- CB Ryan Neal
- LS Kyle Vasey
This is more of a roll of the dice than anything else, but it adds developmental talent at the positions that need it most. Benkert is widely thought to have a track to the backup quarterback job one day, and another year on the practice squad could further develop.
Zaccheaus was a highly-productive receiver at Virginia that might just miss the final cut, but could very much factor into the team’s plans in the future given his explosiveness. Lewis was the top receiver at Cincinnati for the last three seasons and was a versatile athlete in high school. as he also ran track and was a top performer on the basketball team, so watch out for him to be a potential name to stick, too.
Ferris St. alum Johnson was reportedly told he liked the plan the Falcons laid out for him, which makes you wonder if he’s very much guaranteed one of these spots already. I have them going light on the offensive line here since I think they’ll keep 9-10 on the active roster.
Miles is just more of gut feeling than anything else. He had decent production in college. He had 6.5 tackles for loss his senior season at Boise State. Defensive end Chris Odom misses the cut in this idea, but sticks around to further develop for a spot in the edge rotation down the road. The team keeps former Tuioti-Mariner and continues his development.
Baldwin played with Damontae Kazee in college, and could have an inside track with that relationship established. The team also spent time with him pre-draft. Neal got elevated to the final roster at the end of the season, so watch for him to get an inside track to be the first corner up if someone went down.
Vasey is just a guess, but you wonder why the team brought him in originally. The team has a new special teams coach, so maybe they want to further develop at long snapper? Josh Harris is always sound there, though, and recently signed an extension. It’s a curious spot to think about.
These are our guesses. What’s your take on what the practice squad might look like?
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