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Atlanta Falcons fans have seen enough from 2021 third-round draft pick, Jalen Mayfield.
After a rough rookie campaign, Mayfield was still up for the starting left guard position entering this offseason but it looks like the job will be handed over to veteran Elijah Wilkinson.
Mayfield’s two preseason performances have looked anything but promising.
But fans became fed up when he was called for a false start in the red zone on Monday night against the New York Jets, which kept the Falcons from scoring a touchdown.
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Fans Call on Falcons to Release Jalen Mayfield
Falcons fans took to Twitter during Monday’s game to release their frustration with Mayfield, with most of them calling for the Falcons to cut him.
Below is just a sample of what fans wrote in their tweets:
The Falcons had their second round of cuts on Tuesday, August 23 in order to get down to the league minimum of 80.
Mayfield was not on the list of cuts and several fans were not thrilled and, again, took their frustration to Twitter:
Arthur Smith “Not Down” on Jalen Mayfield, Favoring Wilkinson
Wilkinson is new to Atlanta this offseason after signing a one-year deal with the team back in March. He joined the team following one season with the Chicago Bears. Prior to that, he had spent a few years with the Denver Broncos after going undrafted in 2017.
While he has spent five seasons in the league, he comes with little experience and has only started in a total of 27 games, mainly for Denver where he played both right tackle and right guard. So, when the Falcons signed him, many thought head coach Arthur Smith’s intention was to have him put pressure on Kaleb McGary for a spot.
But, that ended up not being the case as Wilkinson has nestled right into the left guard job with Jalen Mayfield as his only real competition.
Mayfield, a 2021 third-round pick for Atlanta, struggled his rookie year after being thrown into a messy offensive line following an injured Matt Gono and Josh Andrews.
With Mayfield still taking time to adjust to NFL, Smith and company have favored the way Wilkinson has been playing at left guard, so far.
“I won’t go into specifics, but a lot of times certain things he’s doing are the way it needs to be done,” Smith said last month, via AtlantaFalcons.com. “I think that’s a good thing for Jalen, so he can step up and make it a competition and we’ll see where it goes. We’re not down on Jalen. It’s more about what Elijah is doing right.”
As for Wilkinson, he’s getting comfortable with first-team reps, knowing he must prove himself every day to earn a spot on the rost.
“It doesn’t tell me anything. I don’t think anything is done here,” Wilkinson said. “The work is still coming. You have to bring it every day. You have to earn it every day.”
It looks like the Falcons will give Mayfield another chance to prove himself in the team’s preseason finale against the Jaguars on Saturday, August 27.
After that, the Falcons must cut their roster down to 53 players by August 30 and we’ll all know then where things stand with Mayfield.
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