Atlanta Falcons Hoping for Injury Boost from 2-Young Defenders

The Atlanta Falcons have several holes on defense. Two of which they hope can be filled internally by safety DeMarcco Hellams and edge rusher Bralen Trice.

Atlanta Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams was scheduled to start beside Jessie Bates in 2024 before being injured in the first preseason game. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Atlanta Falcons beat writer Will McFadden makes the case that edge rusher Bralen Trice and safety DeMarcco Hellams will make a significant impact on the team's 2025 season. That automatically brings up the issue of not overreacting and nothing happens until the pads start popping, but looking into the prospective future of Trice and Hellams does raise a few questions. 

Bralen Trice

McFadden believes that Trice could be the bookend to Arnold Ebiketie.

"It's a group that ended the year on a hot streak," McFadden wrote of the Falcons edge group. "Atlanta ranked 11th in rushing yards allowed per game and second in sacks per pass attempt from Weeks 13-18 last season. Arnold Ebiketie made an impact off the edge with five sacks in the final six games, but the pass rush remains a central area of focus for the team."

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Why would the Falcons rely on a player with zero snaps in the NFL? To go from a Day 2 draft pick (third round in 2024) to injured reserve to impact player feels like quite the herculean leap. Plus, does Raheem Morris want to mortgage a part of his second year at the helm on a player that didn't touch the field during their rookie season? 

Bryce Young and Baker Mayfield, both mobile, can slide in and around the pocket to avoid the sacks. Moreover, why the assumption that Ebiketie would remain the starter? In the last six games, he did tally five sacks. However, the Falcons won only two of the six and the defense surrendered 30-plus points three times.

Ebiketie showed a similar flash in 2023 with 5.5 sacks in six games between Weeks 6 and 13. He had just half a sack the final-five games of the season.

Matt Judon and Lorenzo Carter are scheduled to be free agents next month, and new defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's scheme may not require the same type of outside linebackers / edge rushers.

DeMarcco Hellams

McFadden follows the same logic with the thought of projecting Hellams as a starter in 2025.

"The coaching staff will have the best sense of anyone what Hellams is capable of in their defensive designs, but are the Falcons ready to fully rely on him as a 17-game starter," asks McFadden. "Has the change in defensive coordinator altered that thinking?

"If Hellams is a player the Falcons trust for that role, it would allow them to focus on some of their other defensive needs this offseason. It's a lot to expect him to immediately play to the level Simmons did in 2024, and he'd likely be tested a lot in his first year as a starter."

A safety with four starts, 40 tackles, and surrenders a 68.4 opposing completion percentage, Hellams could definitely contribute to the overall defensive scheme. However, he's coming off a season ending injury as well. He was penciled in as the starter beside Jessie Bates before he got hurt in the preseason game forcing the Falcons to sign Justin Simmons.

The good news for the Falcons, while Simmons has the superior resume, like most Falcons defenders he regressed in 2024 compared to 2023. Frankly, he wasn't very good. That's not to say he's not a good player, just that getting better play from the safety spot than fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake got out of Simmons, shouldn't be overly difficult.

Bottom Line

DeMarrco Hellams and Bralen Trice, in a perfect world, enter the offseason as as quality backups that can spell starters or even fill in for injury. Expecting mammoth contributions from non-premium draft picks with little or no experience, coming off season ending injuries is naive.

However, like the old saying goes, if Hellams and Trice stay ready, they don't need to get ready. If the Falcons attack the offseason like they still need starters at edge and safety, but Hellams and Trice win the position anyway, it just means the Falcons may finally have talent AND depth on the defensive side of the ball.

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