Why Falcons Rookie Demarcco Hellams Made 53-Man Roster

Demarcco Hellams wasn't guaranteed to make the Atlanta Falcons roster as a seventh-round pick, but after impressing the team consistently throughout camp, it made for an easy decision.

Even though he was a draft pick, it isn't a small feat that Atlanta Falcons safety Demarcco Hellams made the team's initial 53-man roster.

Hellams was taken with the No. 224 pick in the NFL Draft after four seasons with the Alabama Crimson Tide ... but he didn't play like a seventh-round selection during the preseason.

Hellams had an interception on his first drive in the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins and continued to make big plays throughout camp and the remainder of the preseason.

"I think if you brought that up, he played well in the preseason but it's not just about that," Smith said. "Sometimes you take that – it's a good evaluation but then there's a lot of other things that can go on in the preseason and sometimes it's who you're going against. Sometimes, it's you can tell some teams are being as generic as they can be. It's part of evaluation. But then it's also what he's done on the practice field and the day-to-day. The way he's trending, hopefully, he keeps it; he's going to be hard to keep off the field. Hopefully that continues to stay at the right trend, so he earned it."

It will be hard to keep him off the field, but it's also challenging to put him on with Jessie Bates III, Richie Grant and Jaylinn Hawkins ahead of him on the depth chart. This means Hellams is a likely candidate to play special teams and he may occasionally see opportunities to make an impact in the secondary if anyone ahead of him catches an injury.

Hellams is expected to make his Falcons debut on Sunday, Sept. 10 against the Carolina Panthers. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.