Getty The Falcons can fix an injury-hit secondary by trading with the NFC East.
Injuries aren’t the only reason the Atlanta Falcons need reinforcements in the secondary. The team’s healthy defensive backs were also shredded by Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.
The Falcons are down to bare bones on the back end, especially at cornerback, after A.J. Terrell joined fellow starter Casey Hayward on the shelf. Falcons’ general manager Terry Fontenot would be wise to add a proven cover man to a depleted and flawed pass defense.
Fontenot can find help by striking a trade with a struggling NFC East team. One of the division’s more prominent cornerbacks has been heavily linked with a trade and needs a change of scenery and scheme to get his career back on track.
Man-Coverage CB Answers Obvious Need for Falcons
William Jackson III looks like the odd man out for the Washington Commanders. He’s struggled mightily since arriving in the NFC East as a big-ticket free agent from the Bengals in 2021.
Those struggles are why Jackson is routinely mentioned as a prime trade candidate. He was reported to want a trade by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero, a report Jackson subsequently denied:
Jackson’s denial hasn’t put an end to trade rumors involving the veteran. He’s still the most likely member of the Commanders to be dealt before the deadline on November 1, according to Bryan Manning of Commanders Wire and ESPN’s John Keim.
One of the main themes of Jackson not fitting in Washington is how he’s struggled in a scheme reliant on zone coverage. As Rapoport, Garafolo and Pelissero noted, Jackson sees his strengths playing a different style: “Rather, he considers himself more of a man-to-man cornerback and Washington has run a lot of zone thus far. When Jackson signed, he envisioned himself as a true lockdown corner, covering a team’s top receiver.”
A lockdown corner is something the Falcons will need if Terrell is out for a while. The third-year pro is dealing with a hamstring issue, and the Falcons sound uncertain about his status, per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein:
Falcons S Jaylinn Hawkins is OUT this week — in concussion protocol.
CB AJ Terrell is “week-to-week.”
CB Dee Alford is “day-to-day.”
With Terrell out and Hayward on injured reserve with a shoulder problem, there’s room for Jackson in the Falcons’ secondary. He’d not only cover injuries, but also address an obvious weakness in how Atlanta’s defense matches up in man coverage.
Falcons Coverage Weaknesses Exposed by the Bengals
The Falcons were picked apart during the 35-17 defeat in Cincinnati. Burrow threw for 481 yards, with wide receivers “Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd all going for at least 93 yards,” per Paul Dehner of The Athletic.
Naturally, Ja’Marr Chase was the most productive, catching eight passes for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both of those scores came when the Falcons played man coverage, according to Dehner’s colleague Nate Tice:
Falcons’ defensive coordinator Dean Pees is often associated with soft zones, but the 73-year-old is experienced enough to know no unit can be truly effective without being able to play man successfully.
Jackson knows how to play the right technique in one-on-one matchups. He’s been far from his best in Washington, but Jackson still allowed less than 60 percent of passes to be completed against him in 2021, according to Pro Football Reference.
It’s worth it for the Falcons to take a chance on a capable defensive back who’s about to turn 30. Especially since a trade is unlikely to cost much, with Keim suggesting “at most, he’d fetch a late-round pick.”
The Falcons have a fifth and a seventh-round pick in 2023, so either one could tempt the Commanders, with both sure to get a deal over the line. Two picks looks like a steep price to pay, but Jackson is still a talent who broke up 14 passes in 2017, 13 a year later and 11 in 2020.
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