Getty Isaiah Oliver No. 26 of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Atlanta Falcons activated cornerback Isaiah Oliver from injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s matchup vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
Falcons activate CB Isaiah Oliver from injured reserve.
Also elevate TE MyCole Pruitt to the active roster for Sunday against San Francisco.
In addition to activating Oliver, the Falcons elevated tight end MyCole Pruitt for the second-straight week, which could be a bad sign for Kyle Pitts (hamstring).
Oliver Tore His ACL Last October
While facing the Washington Football Team last October, Oliver went down early in the second quarter.
Following a hit on Washington’s running back J.D. McKissic, Oliver hobbled off very slowly to the sidelines with the help of trainers and was shortly carted off.
Looks of frustration on #Falcons corner Isaiah Oliver’s face as he was carted off the field with a knee injury. He’s out for the game. Caught by @bkfox5sports
Oliver was ruled out for the rest of the game with a knee injury and later diagnosed with an ACL tear. He immediately underwent season-ending knee surgery.
Oliver returned for Atlanta’s offseason workouts. He was limited during minicamp but then returned to full-team drills during the Falcons’ training camp. He sat out for the team’s first two two exhibition games but played 31 defensive snaps during the preseason finale against the Jaguars before heading to IR again.
Oliver’s Injury Came While He Was On the Rise
There is never a right time for an injury, but Oliver’s couldn’t have come at the worst possible timing for his career.
It was Week 3 of the 2022 season, one game out of Oliver’s injury, and the Dirty Birds had allowed just 14 points against the New York Giants as opposed to the combined 80 points they allowed through their first two games.
The peak performance came by surprise since the Falcons’ top cornerback and playmaker, A.J. Terrell, was ruled out due to a concussion. However, Oliver stepped up in a huge way, which ultimately helped the Falcons’ defense hold their own and beat the Giants.
The versatile defensive back played outside corner up until last season when interim head coach Raheem Morris tested the waters and moved Oliver into the slot. Once defensive coordinator Dean Pees took over, he made the choice not to move Oliver from nickel.
Meanwhile, Atlanta opted to put backup corner T.J. Green in for Terrell and he struggled, however, Oliver’s performance made up for it.
Prior to the 2021 season, Oliver had not lived up to the hype since the Falcons took him in the second round of the 2018 draft. Head coach Arthur Smith credited defensive coordinator Dean Pees and defensive backs coach Jon Hoke for his overall improvement.
“It’s really Dean and Hoke,” Smith said following Oliver’s top performance last fall. “They kind of had a vision for him, where they thought he could play. Really it was the same role that Logan Ryan had for Dean and Vrabes [Mike Vrabel] in Tennessee, and Zay’s taken that on and he’s smart, he’s instinctual. If you’re going to play the nickel in this defense you’ve got to be a willing tackler too.”
After playing the best game of his career, Pro Football Focus gave Oliver a grade of 90.2. And while Falcons linebacker Mykal Walker received a higher grade of 92.7 that week, he played just five snaps compared to Oliver’s 57 snaps.