Can Falcons Newcomer Crack the Starting 11 on Defense?

The Atlanta Falcons are almost midway through training camp. While there are plenty of stories on the offensive side of the football, some defenders deserve to be talked about as well. 

All-Pro caliber safety Jessie Bates III is genuinely motivated to take the Falcons defense to another level. He told reporters at training camp that it’s the unit’s goal to be top 5 in every category.

But he cannot do this alone. It will take some other players reaching their potential in new defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake’s defense to make that possible. One of those possible players is a newcomer to the team’s defense – James Smith-Williams.

Like Bates last season, Smith-Williams is in his first training camp with the Falcons after signing as a free agent.

Through the first four days of camp, Smith-Williams has received a ‘good’ number of reps at the outside backer position. The question for some is, can the fifth-year player earn a starting bid on defense this season?

After four seasons with the Washington Commanders, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound linebacker has played 1,412 defensive snaps since being drafted in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of NC State. As a player who has put up 47 quarterback pressures in the past two seasons, he has proven he can get after the quarterback and be a solid run defender.

What separates Smith-Williams from other players is his above-average competitive toughness. He is always seen making the extra effort to make a football play, as seen above. For Atlanta, this could propel him into one of the starting outside linebacker spots opposite Lorenzo Carter. 

Since his college days, Smith-Williams has always been a high-energy, good football I.Q., and hard-nosed football player.

“Obviously, I’m a very intelligent player. Play recognition and play diagnosis are a big part of my game. But also, I’m a guy who plays very violently. I have great hand strength and strike. That’s kind of what I enjoy most about the game: the physical part. Going pad to pad with another human being is very fun. I’m tremendously athletic and a high-energy guy,” Smith-Williams said during his draft process in 2020.

As someone who sat behind two-time Miami Dolphins Pro Bowler Bradley Chubb as a member of the Wolfpack in college, he knows a thing or two about stepping up when his number is called. For Atlanta fans, it is worth eyeing his activity in training camp not just now but presumably when the pads go on this week.

That’s when his push to be a starter this fall really begins.