Saints vs. Falcons DEFENSE Snap Counts: Young Safeties See Uptick in Playing Time

Richie Grant and Jaylinn Hawkins played a massive chunk of Sunday's game.

It may be the second season for Atlanta Falcons safety Richie Grant and the third for Jaylinn Hawkins, but it might as well be each of their first real seasons in the NFL.

Both young safeties primarily sat on the sideline during the first part of their careers, but now it is their time to shine.

In Sunday's season opener against the New Orleans Saints, both Grant and Hawkins played in all but one defensive snap. Here's a look at the entire unit's snap counts ...

Player	Snaps	Percentage
A.J. Terrell, CB	61	100
Mykal Walker, LB	61	100
Richie Grant, SS	60	98
Jaylinn Hawkins, FS	60	98
Rashaan Evans, LB	60	98
Casey Hayward, CB	59	97
Lorenzo Carter, LB	51	84
Grady Jarrett, DT	45	74
Ade Ogundeji, LB	39	64
Ta'Quon Graham, DE	37	61
Anthony Rush, DT	28	46
Arnold Ebiketie, LB	26	43
Dee Alford, CB	21	34
Timothy Horne, DT	19	31
Mike Ford, CB	17	28
Matt Dickerson, DT	13	21
Quinton Bell, LB	10	16
Darren Hall, CB	2	3
Dean Marlowe, SS	1	2
Erik Harris, FS	1	2

Grant and Hawkins were a featured part of the secondary, and head coach Arthur Smith believed both did a good job.

"I thought you could feel Richie," Smith said. "We had to plug and play different guys in that slot nickel corner spot last year, and I thought you saw Richie's versatility at times. I thought he covered pretty well when he had to go down there, which was an improvement from last year. But you could feel Richie; I thought he played fast. Hawk too, like all of us, it wasn't perfect, but Hawk and Richie, you could feel them."

If the defense is going to succeed, the development of Grant and Hawkins has to work out the way it was intended to. And even though the team lost its first game, there's a lot to be excited about with Atlanta's secondary.

Grant and Hawkins will look to bounce back Sunday in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Falcons? Click Here.

Follow Falcon Report on Twitter.