Atlanta Falcons: Biggest surprises from the team’s final roster cuts
By Derek Snyder
The Atlanta Falcons trimmed their final 53-man roster on Saturday afternoon, take a look at the biggest surprises from the announcement.
The Atlanta Falcons finally have their 53-man roster, as every NFL franchise was required to make their final cuts by 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. Needless to say, if you’re a fan of the Dirty Birds, you should be very pleased with how the roster worked itself out.
For the first time in many years, Atlanta came into a season with an already solid group of 50 or so men. Even though they ended the preseason 0-4, the Falcons core group of players already know what it takes to make it to the big game, they just need a little more help to win their first championship.
That being said, it definitely looks, on paper, that the Falcons have another postseason run in them for the 2017 season.
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While there weren’t too many surprises from the team’s 53-man roster announcement on Saturday, there were a few that caught my attention.
The first major surprise was that the Falcons decided to carry four running backs. By the end of the 2017 preseason, it looked as thought rookie Brian Hill was going to be cut or a practice squad player at best. However, Kelsey Conway from the Falcons’ official website believes that Hill’s contributions on special-teams earned him a spot on the 53-man roster. If that’s indeed the case, then good for him, as many of Atlanta’s key players got their start on special teams.
The other glaring surprise was that veteran wide receiver Nick Williams made the cut over Marvin Hall. According to ESPN, Williams only had a total of five receptions for 39 receiving yards in the team’s four preseason games last month. At the same time, Hall didn’t have a phenomenal month of August either, but it looked as though he may have more upside than the savvy veteran.
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At the end of the day, I believe it came down to the fact that Williams has familiarity with this franchise and Matt Ryan, or vice versa. He’s a player that knows what it takes to fill a void in the regular season, which is exactly what Atlanta will need come November and December.