Atlanta Falcons Rookie DeMarcco Hellams 'Continues to Make Plays,' Pushing for Snaps

Atlanta Falcons rookie safety DeMarcco Hellams set career-highs in snaps and tackles Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

The Atlanta Falcons' safeties room received plenty of attention following Sunday's 24-15 win over the New Orleans Saints, and for good reason.

Jessie Bates III created two redzone takeaways, one a 92-yard pick-six and the other a forced fumble to help vault the Falcons into first place in the NFC South.

Falcons' Bates Shows 'Why They Brought Him Here' vs. Saints

But Bates' strong showing wasn't the only notable takeaway on the backend of Atlanta's defense.

DeMarcco Hellams, a seventh-round rookie out of Alabama, entered Sunday with just five tackles and 64 total defensive snaps to his name through nine appearances.

But against New Orleans, Hellams played a career-high 38 snaps at safety and logged a career-high seven tackles, four solo. He was on the field for 53 percent of Atlanta's defensive snaps.

Why?

Falcons coach Arthur Smith shared it was partially due to a heavy presence of man coverage, which means more running and the need to mix and match in the secondary. He pointed out cornerback Tre Flowers, who played eight defensive snaps, his most in the past seven games.

So, schematics ultimately played a key role in Hellams' extended action.

“I think people want to get you in so much sub-defense," Smith said. "They weren't playing a lot of heavy personnel on some of their tight end package. It felt little. That's a lot of the NFL right now. So, people do that, then they try to get the smaller guys into the run fits.

"You're just trying to change it up, putting guys in spots where you think you can maximize them. And that's a credit to DeMarcco as well.”

Atlanta Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams in action at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Hellams wasn't a direct replacement but still impacted the role of starter Richie Grant, who still played 54 snaps, though at a season-low 75 percent.

The two were often on the field together, something Smith acknowledged Hellams pushed for but was also part of the defense's natural rotation.

Grant played one of his better games against New Orleans, Smith argued, but Hellams appears poised to continue seeing a steady dose of defensive snaps moving forward.

“He makes plays when his number is called," Smith said. "You give guys opportunities. He continues to make plays. He’s done a good job. There’s a lot of trust, and there’s a role for all of them. I thought all three safeties played really well. Marcco, he’s an instinctive football player.”

Bates and Grant are both 26 years old; Hellams is 23. All three are under contract for next season, and Smith is pleased with where each stand in their own journey.

From Weeks 1 through 9, Grant played every single defensive snap, and he missed only four plays against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10. Following the bye week, Grant was off the field for 18 snaps as Hellams saw his responsibilities rise.

Throughout much of his rookie season, Hellams found his way onto the field via special teams, where he played at least 50 percent of the snaps in six of his first nine games.

Starting in Week 6 against the Washington Commanders, Hellams began to see a larger role on defense, playing between 17 and 24 percent of Atlanta's defensive snaps in four consecutive appearances, though he missed one game with a concussion in this five-week span.

Evidently, Smith and defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen have liked what they've seen from Hellams - but again, that doesn't mean Grant's in for a significantly reduced role.

Instead, the Falcons may opt to capitalize on this champagne problem and run more three-safety looks down the stretch.

“It had been in our plan" Smith said. "You want to put your most productive guys on the field as much as possible. There’s a game of making sure you have the right guys, the right personnel and not overdoing it in certain areas, but it’s a good problem to have when you have good football players and you’re trying to find roles for other guys.

"So, that’s kind of where we’re at with those guys.”

Hellams, who started his Alabama career in similar fashion as a special teams ace, finished his senior season by leading the Crimson Tide in tackles.

Perhaps no Falcon helped himself as much as Hellams this preseason, as he led the team with 18 tackles and two interceptions, forcing his way onto the roster after being selected No. 224 overall in April.

Productive but overlooked, it's possible Hellams' professional career follows the same arc as his college journey - and if keeps making plays, he'll get every opportunity to do exactly that.

Hellams returns to action Sunday, when the Falcons (5-6) take on the New York Jets (4-7) at 1 p.m. EST inside MetLife Stadium.