Falcons Rookie Richie Grant: Prepare For A Surprise

The former UCF safety should play right away in the Falcons' secondary.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 15, 2021

The latest rookie to charge on to the Atlanta defense might not be well known across the league but we have a feeling it won't be long until people start paying some attention.

After kicking off their NFL Draft with a strong Round 1 selection in Kyle Pitts, the team made a selection in Round 2 with hard-hitting safety Richie Grant out of UCF.

Grant shot up draft boards after a very strong showing at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, ultimately landing with the Falcons with the 40th overall pick.

Grant got playing time from the moment he stepped on campus as a freshman but mostly came off the bench in UCF's controversial National Championship season.

By the time he was a sophomore, Grant was getting more looks and established himself as the best player on UCF's defense, recording six interceptions and 106 tackles as he led his defense to the Fiesta Bowl against Joe Burrow's LSU Tigers.

While Grant never surpassed his high bar he set for himself in 2018, he still put up consistent numbers in 2019 and 2020.

It seemed as if every big play UCF made on defense, Grant had a hand in the result.

In 2020, one of Grant's best games came against Cincinnati, who was a Top-10 ranked team at the time.

Grant has a lot of versatility as a safety. He can zoom into the backfield and blow up run plays, he can guard tight ends and slot receivers in the middle to turn potential big plays into small or medium plays and he has the potential to run deep with receivers that can take the top off the defense.

We think Grant's role in the NFL will likely stay closer to the front seven than the back four as his physicality is incredibly daunting already without having stepped foot on an NFL field yet. If Deion Jones finds himself sidelined with an injury, there's a chance Grant gets a look at Jones's spot in the defense.

The Falcons had a gaping hole to fill at the safety position with Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen out of Atlanta, so there's a lane for Grant to play a ton of snaps right away.

If you add talent and opportunity together, then Grant has the best possible chance to be the breakout rookie on this team.

Published Jul 15, 2021

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.