Atlanta Falcons Can't Continue to Ignore Secondary Struggles

The Atlanta Falcons waited until a preseason injury forced them to sign another defensive back.

The Atlanta Falcons didn't address the secondary until the preseason, signing Justin Simmons to replace DeMarcco Hellams. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

NFL Network’s Nate Trice starts this summary of the Atlanta Falcons’ struggling secondary with a jaw-dropper. Last week Sam Darnold had a perfect passer rating when targeting both Justin Simmons and Dee Alford in coverage.

pic.twitter.com/6SmqSmWMNT

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) December 9, 2024

In terms of “By Nearest Defender” vs. the Vikings, two black eyes shadow the stat sheet following Sunday’s three touchdown loss. Nickel cornerback Dee Alford played 28 coverage snaps for the worst game of his life: eight targets, seven catches, 126 yards, three touchdowns, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating against.

The clip of Alford turning around looking for Justin Jefferson should be featured in the Guinness World Record Book for worst secondary look ever.

Dee Alford with quite possibly the funniest attempt at guarding Justin Jefferson ever pic.twitter.com/7SpSvBkVZR

— NFL Memes (@NFLHateMemes) December 8, 2024

Safety Justin Simmons needs a good week vs. the Las Vegas Raiders, because tough times continued against Sam Darnold with 30 coverage snaps resulting in five targets for four catches, 87 yards, a touchdown, and yet another perfect 158.3 passer rating.

That's not even delving into the fact that his 19.7% missed-tackle rate is easily the worst of his career.

Statistically how bad are we talking here?  

The Falcons are 25th in passing yards allowed per game, at 229.1 yards. During the four-game losing streak, Atlanta's number ballooned to 253.3 passing yards per contest. They're dead last in passer rating (105.5) and passing touchdowns (26).

Sam Darnold Sunday: 22-28 (78.6%), 347 passing yards, and five touchdowns.

I couldn’t say it better than SI’s Dave Holcomb, “At the beginning of the season, the Falcons secondary could have blamed the pass rush. But that's turned around considerably in the last couple of games. Atlanta has posted 9 sacks in the past two weeks; the Falcons had 8 sacks in the 10 games prior."

The #Falcons have pressured Darnold on 45% of his dropbacks (9-of-20). They entered the game with a 24% pressure rate this season, worst in the NFL, per @ESPNStatsInfo.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) December 8, 2024

We've all torched Kirk Cousins for having zero touchdowns and eight interceptions in the Falcons' four-game losing streak, but opposing quarterbacks against Atlanta in the last four losses have 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

What’s the plan, Stan? For 2024 and 2025 and beyond? The Falcons announced Monday that they have signed Former Green Bay Packers safety Benny Sapp III to the practice squad.

In a corresponding move, the team released veteran safety Dane Cruikshank (again). Second-year safety DeMarcco Hellams remains on season-long IR and former second-round pick Richie Grant respectfully has shown he’s a liability. Clark Phillips III has established a role, but for some reason he's playing outside instead of nickel.

With only two picks the first-two days of the draft and four overall, it might be tough to get a secondary body after ignoring the unit in 2024.

However, a few names I like that are realistic in the second round are cornerbacks Darien Porter of Iowa State and Florida State's Azareye’h Thomas, as well as Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts.

In Round 4 another three names are Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant, and safeties Billy Bowman Jr. of Oklahoma and Virginia's Jonas Sanker.

Head coach Raheem Morris, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake, and assistant head coach Jerry Gray each have extensive experience coaching defensive backs. It may have been hubris that led them to believe they could make do with the personnel they had on the roster.

Atlanta didn't address the personnel in the secondary until Hellams was injured in the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins. That led to the signing of Simmons.

Terry Fontenot hasn't used a top-100 pick on a cornerback in his four drafts as Falcons general manager. The Falcons can't afford to ignore the glaring need in the secondary again this offseason.