Getty Ohio State QB Justin Fields No. 1 passes ahead of the rush from Nebraska's defensive lineman Darrion Daniels No. 79.
The Atlanta Falcons have added some more depth to their defensive line by signing defensive tackle Darrion Daniels to their 90-man roster.
The team announced the move on Wednesday, July 27.
OFFICIAL: We have signed Darrion Daniels
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Daniels Went Undrafted in 2020
Daniels spent most of his collegiate career as an Oklahoma Sooner before transferring to Nebraska ahead of his final season in 2019. During his lone season as a Husker, Daniels logged a career-high 34 tackles and was also one of four team captains.
From there, he entered the 2020 NFL Draft where he signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent.
Daniels initially landed on the Niner’s practice squad as a rookie, but an injury-plagued season for the team opened up some opportunities for him. He was elevated three times and promoted to the active roster later in the season. He finished his first year in the league recording four tackles.
Ahead last season, Daniels found himself back on the 49ers’ practice squad before landing on the injured reserve with a lower leg injury. He did not play a single snap in 2021.
Despite seeing very little action in San Francisco, Daniels stole the hearts of Niners fans with his singing skills.
#49ers DL Darrion Daniels showcasing his singing skills on the team bus today 👀 🎶
🎥: Kai Nacua IG
He now joins a Falcons young and struggling defensive line with plenty of opportunity for him if he can compete well during training camp camp.
Daniels Replaces the Loss of Eddie Goldman
The signing of Daniels fills the void of Eddie Goldman, who announced his retirement just 13 days after signing with the Falcons earlier this month.
Goldman initially inked a one-year contract with Atlanta and was set to make $1.12 million with $895,000 of his salary guaranteed this fall. The former 2015 second-round pick spent six seasons with the Chicago Bears before hanging up his cleats.
While Daniels isn’t as experienced as the addition of Goldman would have been, it gives him a chance to continue to prove himself to the league.
But losing Goldman doesn’t only benefit Daniels, it also benefits Falcons’ third-year defensive lineman Marlon Davidson, who may have been in danger of losing his job.
While still under Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff, the Falcons drafted Davidson in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
At the time, Davidson was deemed the “most savage” player to come out of that year’s draft class. And his comments post-draft had Atlanta fans believing they were getting a monster on the d-line. However, that wasn’t the case as injuries and COVID-19 limited Davidson’s rookie year to only eight games and 132 snaps.
Fast forward to 2021 under a new coaching staff and the hope then was that a healthy Davidson would be able to join forces with top defender Grady Jarrett under Dean Pees’ new defense. But that ended up not being the case as more injuries and COVID-19, once again, derailed Davidson’s second season in the league. He ended the year playing just 270 snaps through 11 games.
He must stay healthy in year three if he wants a future in Atlanta.
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