The Atlanta Falcons added two players to its 16-man practice squad and released two others, the team said Wednesday morning. According to team reporter Tori McElhaney, linebacker Andre Smith Jr. and wide receiver Keilahn Harris have replaced Xavier Malone and C.J. Saunders, respectively.
Smith Jr. was removed off the 53-man roster on Tuesday, after the team acquired wide receiver Van Jefferson in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams. Harris was on Atlanta’s 90-man training camp roster and has rejoined the organization via practice squad.
View the team’s updated 16-man practice squad following Wednesday’s transactions.
The NFL scouting combine is begun. The NFL community is coming together to make dreams come true and assist their teams win the Super Bowl. One of these teams is the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons were in contention for the NFC South division title. They started the season 6-6 and were either tied for the division lead or had completely held it up until that time. However, a 1-4 finish to the season derailed such hopes and resulted in coaching changes.
However, Atlanta may now look to the draft to identify some difference-makers who will help them win the division in 2024. The Falcons’ two standout players are Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
The Falcons have everything they need to become a formidable team. They have an abundance of talented skill-position players, including Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts. Their offensive line is solid. The Falcons’ defense ranked 11th overall, giving up 321.1 yards per game.
Atlanta’s quarterback play was a complete disaster in 2023. Last season, the Falcons had some of the worst quarterback play in the NFL based on EPA (Expected Points Added) and CPOE (Completion Percentage Over Expectation) composite scores.
Desmond Ridder, Atlanta’s starter for the most of the 2023 season, was ranked 31st out of 49 qualified quarterbacks with at least 120 snaps under center. Their backup, Taylor Heinicke, finished 34th among quarterbacks.
Bo Nix could be the cure-all for Atlanta’s issues. Nix’s undergraduate career did not get started to the best of starts while at Auburn. Nix completed 59.4% of his passes and averaged 6.85 yards per attempt across three seasons there.
However, once in Eugene, he shot off like a rocket. In two seasons as a Duck, Nix completed 74.85% of his passes, averaged 9.2 yards per attempt, and threw 74 touchdowns to only ten interceptions.
For the purpose of comparison, Nix threw for 45 touchdowns in his final season at Oregon, compared to 39 in his previous three seasons at Auburn. Nix improved significantly at Eugene and now appears to be a legitimate NFL quarterback.
